


Say Could That Lad Be I

by suyari



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Alpha Johnny Storm, Alpha Natasha Romanov, Alpha Peggy Carter, Alpha Pepper Potts, Alpha Phil Coulson, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha T'Challa, Alpha Thor, Alpha Wade Wilson, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Beta Carmelita Camacho, Beta Jane Foster, Beta Jim Paxton, Beta Maggie Lang, Beta Maria Hill, Beta Riley, Beta Sam Wilson, Beta Scott Lang, Breeding, Found Families, Knotting, M/M, Mates, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Multiple mates, Omega Angie Martinelli, Omega Bruce Banner, Omega Bucky Barnes, Omega Clint Barton, Omega Colleen O'Brien, Omega Darcy Lewis, Omega Loki, Omega Peter Parker, Omega Tony Stark, Oral Sex, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sex for Money, bonded mates, presenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 08:12:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 46,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7794127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suyari/pseuds/suyari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky Barnes decides to take a biological imperative by the reins and seeks out an Alpha to help sate his heats for the year. Things all sort of go down hill from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bucky

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was originally being written for the Stucky Big Bang, but life happened and happened and happened and here we are. I wanted to wait to post this all at once, but life keeps happening and I was encouraged to post this as a WIP. I do promise you this fic will eventually be posted in its entirety. And yes, all the chapters are long as fuck. I'd apologize, but they still feel really short and succinct to me, so maybe this is best.

Bucky Barnes was looking to scratch a very particular itch. 

Because the medical community at large stated that it was “unhealthy” for Omegas to go without experiencing heats completely and the government supported them (of course they did, the bastards were all about the benefits of population increases) regulations mandated that Omegas on suppressants had to do two to three years on, one off to stay healthy and not risk lasting and/or permanent fertility side effects. Bucky figured it was all bullshit, but he couldn’t exactly say he didn’t feel a hell of a lot more normal off them than on. The only issue of course being he got shit done when he was on them, and ended up with half a year worth of hell trying to balance his life when he was off them. 

This time around he was actually looking into a more scheduled approach to the year’s heats. Generally when they came he spent a week riding highs and lows as his hormones took over his body’s natural processes. He’d swing wildly between horny as fuck and feeling like shit, ready to jump anything with a knot the closer his body got to full estrus. He was generally needy as hell for about three days where he needed constant attention of all types, before his body began to wind down. Not so amusingly, he was horniest just before full heat hit him and right after it swung down toward completion. When he was younger he’d go find the most swaggering Alpha cock he could locate and lose himself in a few days of heat induced rut. He’d come out the other end heat neatly cared for, but feeling hollow and empty as if something were missing. Even when he was a complete idiot and risked breeding the release of Alpha semen inside him couldn’t quite sate the gnawing disquiet that would settle in after. Something entirely unrelated to his (thankfully) continually unbred status. 

He’d tried toys when hunting for Alphas ended up more trouble than it was worth and he felt he could better satisfy himself. Most Alphas could be really fucking selfish when it came to pleasure, especially when they rode it out with an Omega in heat - which just seemed counter productive in Bucky’s opinion. He’d thought if he took his own pleasure in hand it’d work out better. After all, he knew what he wanted and how he liked it. He was perfectly capable of satisfying himself when he was _on_ suppressants, so he didn’t see why he’d have any issues doing similarly when he was _off_ them. 

When that didn’t work, he’d tried a pleasure den. The less said about that the better. 

He’d tried substituting with Betas using Alpha enhancements. They were a lot more attentive lovers, better able to keep their heads in the proverbial game. But there was something about the entire process that just seemed...off. Betas didn’t have the same natural instincts as Alphas and Bucky found himself quickly growing frustrated with having to _explain_ himself, his wants and needs. 

He’d even tried sharing a heat cycle with another Omega once. It hadn’t been a bad year, but it hadn’t been the best either. And there was a moment there in the middle where they’d managed to sync and had been forced to find an Alpha willing to take them on together. Bucky dissolved that relationship as quickly as possible. 

So, he tried to stay on his suppressants for as long as he was able and would put off thinking about his heats until the last possible second when he was confronted by them. The problem, of course, was that the longer an Omega went suppressing their heats, the faster and harder the first came when the suppressants went away, as if their body was violently protesting or actively punishing them for simply trying to live their goddamn lives. 

Since he’d pushed it a little too far this time around, he’d been forced to use some of his precious hoarded vacation time in order to not have to scramble for a solution for his first heat of the year. He’d taken a week before his heat was scheduled to arrive and was using it to try to establish some kind of support network for himself. His best option, all told, would be to simply contract an Alpha through an agency. And while this sounded like the best possible solution, Bucky found it was also the biggest pain in the ass he’d ever had to contend with regarding his heats. He had a government sanctioned Alpha stipend he’d never touched from his time with the Army. (They may prefer Alphas and Betas for grunt work, but special forces was almost entirely Omega based and Bucky was one of the best.) And he figured they owed him the stability in his life since they were the ones that got him hooked on the best fucking suppressants on the market. His Omega Vet ID he found, much to his satisfaction, was accepted on a little more than half the sites he visited. With some of them on the higher end even, as a sort of government write off he figured. He didn’t much care about the technical stuff; that would be handled by his OVID provider network. What Bucky cared about was finding a good match for himself. He scoured site after site, clicking his way through profiles and photographs. Some sites were more in depth than others, providing Alpha’s cock sizes and knot circumferences if not outright equipped with pictures. Bucky was aware that sort of thing mattered to some Omegas, but in his experience the Alpha’s personality was a better test of how they’d handle a heat than the size of their dick. 

He was three days in and starting to feel like the whole damn thing might be a bust when he noticed a ‘Favorites’ category on his current agency homepage. Curious, he clicked it and found a ‘Top Twenty’. It was all pictures with profile links but that wasn’t what got Bucky’s attention. No, the Alpha at the top of the list was in an entirely separate category and _that_ got Bucky’s attention. The site encouraged its patrons to leave reviews - which Bucky fucking loved because reviews were God’s gift to people - and offered specially awarded extra stars to Alphas with impeccable reputations. All Alphas on the site were graded on a scale of stars which allowed for half fills and maxed out at five. Bucky knew in order to be awarded additional stars, an Alpha needed a fuck ton of pushes from patrons specifically requesting them. He didn’t know how many exactly, only that it was virtually impossible to even get an extra star without probably every single Omega reviewing them positively. The Top Twenty consisted entirely of only fully filled five starred Alphas. Alphas who hadn’t received a single negative review. Some of the top ten had an additional star, surrounded by a glowing outline as if you wouldn’t be able to recognize their superiority based on the additional star alone. The site’s highest rated Alpha however, and the guy whose profile sat at the very top of the page, completely separate from the rest had a whopping _eight_ stars. 

Bucky found himself wondering just how many Omegas the guy had fucked over the course of his employment in order to get eight stars. Eight stars in Bucky’s opinion meant he knew how to work with what he had and what he had was likely damn impressive. Still, he clicked the profile more out of the endless sea of reviews (two hundred and eleven to be exact) than because of the stars. He’d gotten used to reading the reviews where he could before even looking at the Alpha in question. It didn’t do to allow for attraction to take the wheel if the guy was a dick, and Bucky was specifically looking for someone who’d help him take control of his life this year. Professional and competent and on fucking time. 

He read every single review. There were pros and cons attached to each one in reference to the Alpha in question and an additional section with twenty subcategories which were also rated with stars. These capped out at the standard five, but the Alpha whose profile reviews Bucky was reading had a full set whenever someone filled them out, consistently. From what Bucky could see, the guy was practically a paragon of Alphahood; the only real complaints (and they were also consistent) centered around the fact that he did not provide breeding services. Bucky wasn’t baby crazy by any stretch of the imagination - though he did want them and was feeling the pressure to have them, both by society and his family, and his own biological clock; at thirty he was hitting his prime breeding years and his body was _very_ interested, constantly supplying him with dreams and daydreams and entirely too emotional responses to cherubic little faces, even when he was personally adamantly against raising pups on his own. Plenty of Omegas were single parents these days. Choosing to be bred during a heat by an Alpha of their choosing and then subsequently releasing the Alpha of the responsibility so they could go about their lives. And while the thought had occurred to Bucky - he wasn’t getting any younger and dating was getting a hell of a lot harder - he knew in his heart he’d never be happy without the bond, even if he had his own baseball team of sweet faces. 

When he’d finished the review section, Bucky reviewed the Alpha’s actual profile and found himself sold all too quickly. He liked that he was a retired Army captain - they had shared life experience and Bucky knew he wouldn’t have to tip toe around this one - so he’d understand Bucky’s desire to be orderly and regimented about his heats. He was an artist who liked to cook (and could cook damn well according to reviews), enjoyed time outdoors (Bucky fucking loved being outside), and exercised regularly. Even though the guy refused to provide breeding services, the site required all of his statistics anyway. Bucky found himself nodding along at how fucking healthy the guy was. According to his daily STD scans which were posted at noon of every day for the day previous, he was completely clean - and held a record, noted by the number of checks (which he had in the hundreds) and Xs (which he had not a single one of). The only part of his profile that was blank was the ‘Sired’ category, which made sense. The only part of it filled was the very top which read ‘Breeding Available: No.’ And beneath it...Bucky whistled. An Alpha with a sperm count like that who refused to breed was almost a tragedy. Bucky could understand his peers frustrations. But, it worked for him, because despite the ‘yes someday’ to babies, he was most assuredly not in the market and had no intention to be, so it worked out just fine for him - though several reviews warned that many of the Omegas he’d been with had chosen him distinctly for the same reason and came out the other end wanting them more than ever. Still, Bucky wasn’t concerned, and clicked the ‘contact’ link. He filled in his basics and gave the guy a short, perfunctory overview of his plan and hit send. While realistically, he was aware that for his distinct level of need, and with his heat rapidly approaching, it’d be best to explore all avenues, and perhaps contact a few others on the site’s Top Twenty - putting the fact aside entirely that the Alpha he’d chosen was a site favorite and probably got inundated with requests by the minute; all reviews mentioned he replied to them despite his busy schedule - Bucky had set his mind on this Alpha in particular, and that was pretty much it for him. Feeling accomplished, he got up and stretched, before giving in to the desire to go for a run and push his body while he still could. Closing his laptop, he trotted off to get changed. 

Much to his surprise, by the time he’d finished his run, had something to eat, showered and napped, there was a response waiting for him from the Alpha. Bucky clicked the link excitedly before pausing and closing his eyes. He realized the guy could be responding with a polite no and he didn’t think he could handle that, not when he finally felt like he was gaining some sort of control over his life. He held his breath a minute or so, then released it slowly, falling into the calm mental state just before he pulled the trigger. Opening his eyes, he read the response, and felt all the air leave his chest in a rush. His fingers stumbled over themselves as he hurriedly replied, giving the Alpha his schedule, complete with both expected heat start and what he felt to be the more realistic start time, given everything he was feeling. The Alpha must have been at his computer, because he replied back almost immediately, informing Bucky he was available and asking him if he’d like to meet before hand to see if they were a personality match. Bucky closed his eyes on a very personal mewl and took a moment to thank all higher powers for finally sending a competent individual attached to this year’s knotting service. He agreed to coffee and sent the Alpha the address. 

An hour and twenty minutes later he was sitting in his fourth favorite coffee shop - he was not stupid enough to ever give out the first three for tactical reasons - hands curled about his cup and trying not to look at the door every time the bell jingled. He’d bought a magazine to peruse while he waited, but it mostly sat face up above his jiggling knee under the table. Bucky wasn’t nervous as a general rule - he’d have never gotten as far in the military if he had been - but he found the closer the time came for them to meet, the more anxious he felt. The fact that he was using an agency didn’t sway him in the least. The fact that the Alpha he’d chosen, and whom his mind had happily already settled on, might end up not feeling a kinship enough to agree to undergo his heats with him for the year made him jittery as hell. Many reviewers had pointed out that the Alpha not only remembered (and prefered to use) their names during their time together, but had a keen mind for recalling every intimate detail revealed to him, recalling everything from just how they liked their knotting to their idiosyncratic tendencies, whims and preferences. He was an Alpha who believed in proper Omega care before, during and after a heat and nearly every reviewer had touched upon how easy and enjoyable their heats were while in his care. The fact that he even personally subscribed to Omega care, let alone deigned to provide it was something Bucky found he really, really wanted to experience for once in his life. And while the Alpha remained (a strange combination of tragically and blissfully) unbonded and refused to provide breeding services, Bucky had read more than one review that personally thanked him for teaching and/or reminding them what they ought to be looking for in a partner. Bucky wondered how often the guy was approached by clients for personal attention outside of a contract. He suspected incredibly often. 

“Are you a pictures man or do you read it for the articles?” 

Bucky looked up to find quite possibly the most gorgeous man to ever grace the Earth smiling down at him. He blinked, following the playful drop of the blond’s eyes to his National Geographic on the table. Bucky laughed, standing. “All about the articles,” he replied, smiling. “Of course the inserts aren’t half bad either.” 

The guy laughed. “Steve,” he introduced himself as they shook hands. “Are you James?” He seemed to be asking out of courtesy more than uncertainty, and Bucky found he liked that a whole lot. 

“Yeah. Bucky though, please. Everyone calls me Bucky.” 

“Nice to meet you, Bucky.”

Bucky felt his smile tugging even wider and wondered if this was a natural occurrence for Steve. He held out his newly freed hand and gestured at the table. Steve sat with a quiet thanks, not at all concerned apparently about accepting breaks in social etiquette when offered them. Bucky’s opinion of him rose even more. “Coffee?” he asked. “Tea? A sandwich?” The last he drawled out after a long look at the Alpha sitting across from him. 

Steve laughed and Bucky marveled over how relaxing it felt to be in this particular Alpha’s presence. Usually Alphas left him slightly unsettled, especially close to a heat. But Steve, for all his stature and clear Alpha status seemed about as threatening as a kitten. “Water’s fine,” he assured him. 

Bucky waved one of the servers over to ask for a water for Steve. The girl - an Omega herself - bumped into exactly five tables including their own in the process of fulfilling the request. Steve smiled at her beguilingly and thanked her sincerely, making eye contact with her the entire time she was present, as if he truly appreciated her service. She flushed prettily and dropped her eyes, barely glancing up at him from below her lashes as she nervously tucked some hair behind her ear and replied in a quiet voice, “You’re welcome.” She shifted slightly, twining her fingers together and risked a glance up at him. “If...if there’s anything you need…” Bucky felt proud of her for not stressing the word. “I’ll be...just over there.” She thumbed her badge. “Sharon.” 

“Thanks, Sharon,” Steve replied with a kind smile that didn’t seem the least bit forced or fake. “We appreciate it. We’ll let you know if we need anything else.” 

She chanced a glance at Bucky who smiled at her, sharing an ‘I know, right?!’ moment with her before she scurried off. He laughed softly to himself, shaking his head, mindful of her trek across the room so she wouldn’t feel offended. 

“What?” Steve asked, head cocked to the side. 

“Nothing, pal,” Bucky replied with a chuckle. “I just can’t believe you’re actually real.” 

Steve straightened, though he didn’t appear offended, merely seemingly resigned. “Why does everyone I meet say that?” he sighed. 

“Because you’re a bit of a miracle,” Bucky pointed out. 

Steve snorted. “It doesn’t take anything to be _nice_ to people,” he responded. And ohhh did Bucky want to sign the damn contract and have the privilege of this man’s company for the year. Steve seemed to catch on, because he cleared his throat and leaned back in his seat, fingers toying idly with his straw. “So,” he said, crossing his legs at the ankles beneath the table. Bucky could tell because Steve’s legs were _long_ and he could feel them adjusting just to the right of his own. “Do you want to discuss specifics?” 

He was giving him an out, Bucky realized. A chance to say he wasn’t comfortable or didn’t feel like they were a good match but thanks for coming anyway, sorry for wasting your time. Jesus, nobody could be this fucking perfect. He smiled and took a sip of his coffee, deliberately dragging out the moment as he observed Steve over the rim of his cup. Steve sat quietly, upright, but hunched a bit at the shoulders, as if conscious of how his size could affect people’s decisions. Swallowing, Bucky leaned back in his own seat, deliberately stretching his legs out so his feet settled between Steve’s chair legs. “Yeah, let’s talk specifics.” 

Steve pulled out his phone, holding his thumb to it for a moment, before swiping across the surface. He tapped something and then looked up at Bucky. “You said you should be peaking sometime around Thursday?” 

Bucky shrugged. “I’ve been on Omniprel for three and a half years.” Steve’s eyebrow rose slightly. “System just finished flushing last week. I’m back to norm, so…” 

Steve hummed and tapped something into his phone. “Do you peak early?”

“Yeah,” Bucky replied with a sigh, raking his hand through his hair. “I’m really needy just before and just after.” 

Steve looked back down at his phone and swiped up with his thumb. “First heat of the season?” 

“Yeah,” Bucky drawled, feeling his chest heave a deeper sigh. “I’m gonna be a fucking wreck. Sorry about that. I mean I understand-” 

Steve held up a hand, shaking his head. “No apologies please,” he said, putting his phone down. He reached out, giving Bucky plenty of time to retreat before laying his hand over Bucky’s on the table and giving him a firm but gentle squeeze. “Omniprel’s a serious suppressant. Coming off it is stressful enough. I’m just trying to figure out how much time you’ll need; I want to be sure you’re safe before I leave you. That’s all.” 

Bucky blinked at him, swallowing against the sudden blockage in his throat. He released a slow, too shaky for his liking exhale as Steve rubbed his thumb against his wrist supportively. “Okay.” 

Steve smiled and picked his phone back up with his free hand. His fingers relaxed over Bucky’s, offering him the choice to pull away if he wanted. Bucky considered the anxiousness swirling in his gut over Steve’s sincerity and shifted his hand so their fingers interlocked lightly. Steve’s grip adjusted, so they were holding hands, fingers twined. Bucky found he could breathe a lot easier. 

“It’s Tuesday,” he said apropos of nothing. 

“Yeah?” Bucky replied, unsure of whether or not there was a question there. 

“You figure you’ll start peaking on Thursday,” Steve explained calmly. 

Well shit. 

Steve’s fingers gave his a light squeeze. “Do you prefer your own space or would you rather spend it in mine?” 

Bucky was aware some Omegas prefered to be completely surrounded in an Alpha. Using their environment to help ground them in the present, using it as a security and a safety net all at once. Some Alphas also prefered their own space, for performance reasons. The fact that he was getting a choice…

Bucky’s mouth quirked up in one corner. “Yeah, but is it _really_ your place, or is it your office?” 

Color graced Steve’s cheeks and Bucky grinned. He was almost positive no one had ever asked him that before. Which really, Steve was a contract Alpha. Of _course_ he kept his own home independent of where he took Omegas for their heats. He was young, healthy and beautiful. Eventually he might decide to retire and take a mate, and he’d never be comfortable bringing them back to the same place he brought his contracted Omegas. It was common sense. 

Bucky gave Steve’s hand a squeeze. “My place is fine,” he replied. “I’ll be more comfortable there. I know where everything is.” 

Steve nodded and tapped something into his phone. He took a moment, reading something before hovering his thumb over his screen. “Would you like me to lock in the time?” 

‘Do you want to sign with me,’ was what he was really asking. Bucky grinned at him, feeling a little dopey. “Yeah, go ahead,” he replied. “You’re OVID approved, right?” 

“Yep,” Steve said, thumb pressing down on the screen. He waited a moment, nodded then put it away. “The contract will need to be signed and filed by the end of the day - they’ve sent it to you for approval, it should be in your inbox within the next ten minutes - but, I’m yours now.” 

‘Yours.’ Bucky liked the sound of it. “You agreed awfully fast,” he pointed out. “Not that I’m complaining or anything.” 

Steve shrugged. “I go with my gut,” he replied, casual as you please. 

“Instincts ever fail you?” Bucky asked, curious. 

“Nope.” 

Bucky grinned. “Good to know.”

Bucky read the contract in the passenger’s seat of Steve’s car on his phone while he waited for Steve to pack up for their time together. According to the contract, they would be essentially bonded for the duration of Bucky’s heat, which allowed for certain intimacies as required by the Omega and at their own discretion. Bucky wondered how many Omegas had asked Steve to scent mark them during their heats and felt a weird prickle in his chest. He signed the contracts with his forefinger and sent them back. He trusted his gut too. It’d kept him alive more than his training ever had. He just wished his gut would make up it’s mind where the Alpha was concerned. He was pretty sure contract Omegas had no right to feel any inkling of jealousy over a biological service. It’d be nice if emotional compliance came with the contract as well. 

Bucky’d had plenty of Alphas over in his time, but whether it was the contract or just Steve himself, it felt a lot different this time around. Steve looked around, but was careful not to touch anything. He was being very mindful of scenting up the environment, and Bucky appreciated that. 

“Feel free to make yourself at home,” he said. “We’re going to be seeing a lot of each other, there’s no reason you should be standing around trying to keep to yourself for the year.” 

“You can contract me monthly,” Steve pointed out. As if Bucky would give Steve up for anything short of his own personal mating. Steve’s not Bucky’s. Bucky had more or less resigned himself to being alone for the rest of his life. 

“Do you have your heart set on that?” Bucky replied, flopping onto the couch. “Because I already put in for the year with OVID.” 

Steve relaxed. He didn’t take up any more space than necessary, but he took up space more naturally than he had a moment ago. “It’s up to you,” he said crossing over to the couch at Bucky’s invitation. “Whatever you’re comfortable with.” 

Bucky shifted, tucking one leg under him as he turned to look at him while Steve made himself comfortable. “Don’t you get a choice at all?” he asked with some concern. 

Steve smiled. “Of course I do,” he reassured him. “But, I go with my gut, remember?” 

Bucky grinned. “Yeah, me too.” He dropped back into the corner of the couch, dropping his legs into Steve’s lap and freezing. “Is this...I mean…”

Steve dropped a hand over Bucky’s calf and rubbed his leg. “It’s fine. I’m here for you, Bucky. Whatever I can do to make this more comfortable on you, I want you to tell me.” 

Bucky suppressed the pleasured sigh as Steve’s strong fingers swept over his jean clad skin, wiggling back into the pillows and flexing his toes. “I don’t want you feeling obligated-”

“Bucky,” Steve cut him off gently. He smiled. “If I don’t want to do something, or I’m uncomfortable, I’ll tell you, all right?”

Something in Bucky seriously doubted the truth of that declaration. “Promise me.” 

“I promise,” Steve vowed, so solemnly Bucky found himself swallowing. “What do you like?” he asked after a moment, fingers tracing nonsensical patterns against the back of Bucky’s knee. He dropped his other hand across the back of the couch, fingers gently reaching to toy with the ends of Bucky’s hair. 

Bucky arched slightly, feeling arousal wash through him in a low wave. 

“Bucky?” Steve’s voice was gentle and inquisitive. 

Bucky opened his eyes - surprised he’d closed them to begin with - and met Steve’s shockingly blue ones. “I don’t…” Shame curled in the pit of his stomach. It was stupid. He knew better than to feel ashamed over his own needs. Hell, it was the entire reason he’d gone with a contracted Alpha this time around - to see that those needs were met as best as possible. Still, he found it difficult to reconcile with years of what was essentially social indoctrination. He shrugged. “I don’t really know.” 

Steve nodded as if this wasn’t news. There was something not at all like pity on his face, but still spoke of a sort of tired understanding, as if Bucky’s situation was universal, and he was still struggling to accept it after all this time. 

Bucky shifted, and Steve used the motion to sweep his legs up and scoot closer on the couch. Bucky’s ass met Steve’s thigh, feet against the couch even as Steve’s hand began to sweep from his hip to his ankle without apparent struggle in reach. It felt...incredibly good and Bucky relaxed into the touch. “I like that,” he conceded. 

“How would you feel about an open learning curve?” Steve asked. 

“Hmm?” Bucky replied, peeking up at him again. 

Steve’s fingers swept around his knee as the fingers of his other hand drifted back, barely grazing his scalp. Bucky swallowed a keening sound, arching up slightly, hands fisting against his sides. Steve reached for one and drew it close, resting it flat against his side. “We’ll agree to give one another permission to go with our guts.” He gave Bucky a soft smile. “Just do what feels natural, and we’ll correct one another when necessary. If you don’t like something, just tell me to stop and I will. If you want more of something, let me know. And I’ll do the same.” He shifted closer. “It’s important that we establish a connection. So when your heat sets in, I’ll be able to give you everything you need. You won’t come out the end feeling like something’s missing.” 

Bucky blinked up at him. “How did you…”

Steve sighed heavily. “It’s an unfortunate truth that communication is often severely lacking between our designations. It’s disturbingly common how many Omegas feel unfulfilled in general, but it’s completely disgraceful that they’re more likely to after a heat. While we’re together, I promise I will be here for you one hundred percent, no matter what you need, Bucky.” 

Bucky swallowed against the intensity in Steve’s eyes. The air felt heavier around them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Just weighted, like a particularly important moment, preparing to burn itself into memory. “I can be _really_ needy,” he informed Steve quietly, feeling the habitual urge to drop his eyes, but unable to in the steady gaze of Steve’s regard. 

“Well,” Steve replied pleasantly. “That’s good. Because I can be extremely attentive.” 

Bucky snorted a laugh. 

“The only thing I absolutely won’t do,” Steve informed him. “Is risk breeding you. I know that it’s something a lot of people choose me for, but I-”

“You don’t have to explain yourself,” Bucky interrupted. “Breeding is your own damn business. And anyone who tries to get you to breed them after knowing it’s something you don’t want is an asshole.” 

Steve smiled, hand sliding up Bucky’s side. “It isn’t that I don’t want kids,” he replied, nodding his consent to share of his own free will when Bucky opened his mouth again. “I want plenty of kids. A whole baseball team even.” He laughed. “I just...I want my kids to be _my_ kids. I want to raise them with my mate. It’s...it’s important to me that it’s...special, you know? I want the only kids I have to be born out of love and mutual desire and respect. Not because someone thought I looked good or got caught up in the moment.” 

“You’re a romantic, aren’t you?” Bucky asked, looking at him sideways. 

“Yeah, what of it?” Steve responded, tilting his chin up playfully. 

“We’re a dying breed,” Bucky informed him. 

“Oh?”

“You will not believe how often I’ve had some idiot knotted up in me complaining about the condom because ‘it’s such a waste’.” 

Steve snorted. 

“I understand that a lot of people don’t want to wait now a days, and that’s completely fine. It’s their lives and their business. Am I happy that I’m gonna be thirty-one and I don’t know what it’s like to be pregnant? No. I mean, I get that I’m ‘still young’ but at the same time, I always thought I’d be hip deep in kids by now. That was the _plan_. Not to sound cliché or anything - it’s not like I wanted to be a house Omega, not that there’s anything wrong with that - but I always thought I’d have everything together by now, you know?” 

Steve nodded. 

“I had it all planned out. I’d meet someone young, fall madly in love…” 

Steve smiled. Bucky suspected he’d been similarly duped by life. 

“Mate. Start my family while I was still able to keep up with them.” Most people would interrupt him at this point in his explanation to point out that Bucky was still young and fit enough to do that. Steve didn’t. “Hell by thirty, I was supposed to have been mated at least five years with about as many kids and a bunch more to come.” He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. His fingers bumped Steve’s and they tangled. “I don’t regret my life at all, but the older I get the harder it is to find someone who gives a shit. So many Omegas are going it alone because it’s just easier to admit if you can’t have the whole thing you were promised when you designated, the least you can do is fulfill your own needs. And I want kids so badly…” He wiped at his eyes. “I _hate_ my heats because every last one is just this reminder of how wrong everything’s gone. And every time I have to go off my suppressants, the _**need**_ just consumes me. It’s just this big, painful reminder of everything I don’t have. And everything I try is just...not enough. I always feel so...empty. It doesn’t help! It...I...What’s so wrong with me that no one wants me?” he asked, meeting Steve’s eyes. “Every heat I have to hear about how much some stupid knothead wants to breed me. But fill ‘em and flee ‘em! That’s all they want! And I-my kids _deserve_ better! They deserve parents who love them and want to be with them and not..not…” 

He steadied himself against Steve’s chest, surprised to find himself in the Alpha’s lap. Steve’s arms were around him and there were wet stains in his shirt. Bucky pressed his face into Steve’s neck as Steve made a throaty soothing sound and just fucking sobbed. 

“ ** _You_** deserve better,” Steve murmured into his hair, hand smoothing over his back. “You shouldn’t have to settle for anything you don’t want because that’s ‘just the way the world works’.” He pressed a sweet, pulling kiss against Bucky’s temple. “I’m sorry you’re feeling so unfulfilled, but I _promise_ if nothing else, I’ll do my best to ease as much of the strain as I’m able while we’re together.” 

Bucky pressed his face into Steve’s neck, nose to his throat. Steve didn’t object, arms drawing him closer and holding him so securely, Bucky thought he just might crumble into nothing if he let go. 

“I’m here,” Steve soothed gently. “I’m here. I have you, Bucky. Everything’s gonna be alright.” 

By the time Bucky calmed enough to regain his bearings, he couldn’t quite recall the series of events, or make any accurate guess towards the time passed. All he was aware of was the fact that Steve had - at some point - made himself comfortable, and was cradling Bucky close with the same sure feeling of safety and security. Somehow Bucky’d managed to curl up about Steve’s torso, knees high up his chest and face buried in his neck. His arms were tucked just under Steve’s, whose own were wound about him unmoving, but still reassuring in the strength of his hold. The Alpha was taking all of Bucky’s weight, laying back against the couch at an angle, and if it bothered him at all - and it didn’t seem to - he wasn’t saying anything. 

Bucky inhaled deeply and let the steady Alpha scent collect in his lungs. Steve, perhaps noting the change, gave a rumble of what Bucky assumed was approval and shifted his grip so he was craddling his body in the solid hold of one arm, fingers splaying against Bucky’s hip. His now free hand moved to the back of Bucky’s head and began a long, smooth stroking that was just the right pressure. He didn’t say anything though and the silence dragged out until Bucky felt compelled to address it. 

Shifting, he wiggled impossibly closer, as if he could hide in Steve. Steve obligingly sat up a bit, so his shoulders shielded Bucky - from what, he couldn’t say, but it felt _amazingly_ reassuring. As a result, more of his weight rested against Steve’s arm beneath him, which didn’t so much as twitch over the increase. 

“I’m...sorry,” he murmured; nearly whined really. “Steve, I-”

“Hey,” Steve replied. His voice was even, quiet but firm. Bucky relaxed into it. Steve’s hand paused against his back, his head tilting. “Look at me.” It wasn’t an order, but it wasn’t a question either. Just enough Alpha to get through Bucky’s distress. He lifted his head, but when he didn’t lift his eyes, Steve’s fingers brushed his chin and guided it up gently. “Bucky, look at me.” 

Bucky’s eyes rose slowly, afraid of what he might find in Steve’s. When their eyes did meet however, Steve’s were lit with a kindness and understanding Bucky wasn’t used to. 

“Why are you apologizing?” 

Bucky’s eyes flitted around, unable to hold Steve’s. 

“Hey.” 

He looked back at him. 

Steve’s hand cupped his cheek and Bucky’s entire body pressed into the touch. “Don’t ever apologize for anything you need,” he said quietly. “Okay?” 

Bucky swallowed. 

“That’s why I’m here,” Steve continued. “To take care of you.” He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Bucky’s brow. His eyes closed at the touch, body relaxing further. Steve brought their brows together. After a moment of feeling Steve’s unwavering gaze, Bucky opened his eyes. “Anything and everything you need. I’m here for you.” 

Inhaling shakily, Bucky nodded slowly. It made their noses brush and they both smiled. 

“May I kiss you?” Steve asked, and it was such an odd thing, to be asked by an Alpha. Especially given the reason Steve was in his apartment. 

He’d meant to say yes, but what came out was a slightly trembling, “ _Please_.” 

“If you want me to stop,” Steve said, holding his gaze. “You tell me to stop and I will. Alright?” 

Bucky swallowed; his throat felt dry. “Okay,” he replied when Steve didn’t immediately comply. 

Steve made a sound - of what Bucky guessed was either confirmation or approval - then reached up with his other hand, closing Bucky’s face between them. His fingers slid back into his hair and he guided Bucky forward, pushing up against the couch with his shoulders. The moment their mouths touched...Bucky had _never_ been kissed by _anyone_ in his entire life the way Steve kissed. He couldn’t even describe it. Not if he spoke every language on the planet and had a hundred years to document it. 

Steve didn’t move anything but his lips and tongue, slowly stoking a wildfire in Bucky’s body. Drawing out sounds from somewhere deep inside that the Omega hadn’t been aware he’d even possessed. In fact, it was Bucky who began moving. The dual combination of his hardening cock and the slick sliding free of his body, encouraged by the heavy throbbing between his hips, urging him to find some kind of release. He began to rock over Steve, body making contact with the Alpha’s firm abdomen. After a while, his hips began to wind circles, and then a combination of the two, slowly losing focus and finesse, fingers gripping the cloth at Steve’s shoulders with increasing strength. And still, Steve didn’t move. Just kept kissing him in his maddening way. Kept himself a steady target for Bucky’s rutting motions. His mouth absorbing Bucky’s cries even as it encouraged more of them free. 

Bucky lost all real sense of himself as he pushed against Steve’s strong shoulders. As an Alpha, Steve by definition was difficult to move, but he did, shifting back until Bucky was atop him, without sacrificing the angle that was giving the Omega in his lap so much pleasure. Bucky pushed himself upright and took. Riding the mounting pleasure mindlessly. 

Steve’s hands slid down his sides, moving to rest over his hips. They didn’t guide or attempt to alter Bucky’s movements in any way. Simply settled there, a welcome pressure. 

Bucky could feel his orgasm coming at him with the speed of a freight train and shoved his hips down against Steve with increased urgency, fingers trapped in knots he’d made of the Alpha’s shirt. Steve’s hands slid back and his fingers did something soft and fleeting against Bucky’s lower spine and he just fucking lost it. Entire body bowing tightly, his head snapping back, Bucky howled his pleasure to the ceiling. The intensity alone was shocking, but what really got his attention was the _length_ of it. It seemed to go on forever before abruptly capping off. Bucky’s entire body pulled a full one eighty and he collapsed in a trembling heap atop of Steve. 

Steve, who still didn’t move, except to comfort him. Winding his arms about him and smoothing his hands over Bucky’s oversensitive nerves. “Better?” he asked calmly after several moments of Bucky’s harsh gasping and uncontrollable shaking. 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Bucky growled when he was finally capable of responding. He pushed himself up enough so he could look at Steve. The bastard didn’t even look smug, instead a strange sort of satisfied happiness. He smoothed a hand through Bucky’s hair and the Omega was temporarily lost to the sensation. 

“Feel better?” he clarified. 

Bucky blinked at him. “You’re going to be worth every cent,” he informed him. 

Steve laughed. 

Bucky’s heat didn’t start for another twelve hours. In that time, Steve proved to be exceptionally adept at anticipating and providing for Bucky’s needs and desires. He got him off so much, the frantic feeling that usually accompanied his heat’s arrival was distinctly absent. So absent in fact, that Bucky didn’t even realize when his body transitioned from pre-heat to full heat. Not that he was capable of focussing on much. Not with how fucking amazing Steve was. 

The Alpha seemed to instinctively know where all of Bucky’s spots were. If he were guessing, then he was doing a damn fine job of faking it, because he never lost that confidence that he wore like a cloak about him. The steady, assured sort, not at all laced with insecurities. But stuffed with sincerity and earnestness. 

In fact, Bucky only knew his heat had started because Steve drew away from him - and God but having an Alpha eat you out for hours on end was something every Omega deserved to experience at least once in their lifetime - shifting in his position between Bucky’s legs. He pulled off his shirt and undid his belt before attending to his fly. Bucky was automatically transfixed. Eyes glued to the main event as it was slowly revealed. Steve didn’t rush like most Alpha’s. Tearing at their clothes and throwing them everywhere before grabbing at Bucky. He wasn’t overly careful, but he was definitely leisurely. Bucky found himself swallowing as Steve adjusted, folding his pants and tossing them with astounding accuracy onto the chair in the corner. 

Bucky took a moment to thank every deity in existence as his eyes drank in the sight of Steve’s erection. He was large and thick, the kind of Alpha an Omega would easily find intimidating if they brought them home without prior warning. Everything about Steve screamed _virile_ and Bucky felt the gushing release as his body responded. 

Steve looked at him - Bucky couldn’t be sure if he’d made a sound or not - and smiled. “Ready?” he asked. Bucky flopped back on the bed, arching and spreading his legs with a whine. Steve laughed again softly and stroked Bucky’s inner thigh. “It’s okay, Bucky. You can take me.” It suddenly occurred to Bucky that Steve’s constant attentiveness made a striking amount of sense now. 

“In me,” Bucky whined, hips rolling. He damn well knew he could handle Steve. Hell, he was excited as all fuck to try. If Steve would stop taking his sweet ass time. 

“Shh,” Steve soothed, stroking him again. “In a minute. Need to acclimate you to me first.” 

He lifted Bucky’s legs, bending them at the knee and settled between them. “Have to do this part without the condom, so there’s gonna be a bit in between that’s gonna feel tight,” he explained. “Sorry.” Bucky was about to berate him - he could damn well get on with it any fucking day now - when he felt Steve’s heavy cock meet his slickened hole. Oh. OH. 

Steve slid his cock against him a few times; long, steady thrusts that coated them in one another’s essences. He adjusted his hold and levered Bucky’s hips before doing it again, coating the other side. Each stroke was maddening. Since they glanced right over his entrance without once making an attempt to burrow into his body - where Bucky _needed_ him to be. 

“Steve,” he gasped, head tossing to one side. His hands made aborted grabbing motions against the Alpha’s abdomen. “ _Steve_!” 

Steve made a soothing noise and helped Bucky roll over. Bucky was quick to present, limbs scrabbling beneath him, tangling in the sheets. “Almost…” Steve soothed. “Just a little bit more, Buck, and we can start.” His hands gripped Bucky by the hips and held him down firmly. Bucky cried out, feeling his body release even more slick. He was ready! He was _so_ ready!! “Easy…” Steve said, lining up the head of his magnificent cock. “Easy, Bucky. Can’t start just yet.” Bucky bucked in Steve’s grip, trying to thrust back to greet him. “Almost..” Steve soothed. He pushed in slowly, but shallow. Bucky cried out and tried to push back, but Steve’s grip strengthened about him. They’d agreed earlier that Steve would use his Alpha voice on Bucky whenever it felt right. So when he said, “Bucky not yet,” voice heavy with Alpha, it thrummed hard through Bucky’s entire body. He stopped moving immediately, ass in the air and face making even more of a mess of the sheets as he pressed it close and moved around, whining desperately. Steve made a soothing noise and stroked a hand down Bucky’s trembling back, following the entire length of his spine. “So good,” he praised gently - Bucky liked it, so Steve had agreed to it. He pushed forward and Bucky keened as his body stretched slowly about the oh so welcome intrusion. “Almost…” Steve panted. “Almost there.” As he bottomed out, balls pressed close to Bucky’s skin, Bucky mewled and squirmed. He still wasn’t allowed to move, and Steve stroked him reassuringly as Bucky’s body accepted him. When his muscles had contracted to accommodate Steve’s cock, body properly imprinted for the cycle, Steve slowly drew out. Bucky - unable to stop himself - immediately burst into frustrated tears. 

“Shhh…Buck,” Steve soothed as he slipped free and reached for a condom. “I’m here. I’m right here. Gonna take care of you. Gonna take such good care of you.” 

Bucky pressed his face into the sheets, sobbing quietly. Steve gently levered him free after a moment, turning him over and smoothing his hands over Bucky’s spred legs. “I’ve got you, Buck…” he gasped as he slid back in. Bucky watched through watery eyes as Steve’s head tipped back slightly, exposing his neck. He let out a soft, open mouthed sound when he was fully sheathed again, then drew Bucky’s hips close with both hands and leaned over him so he could kiss him sweetly. When the tears were clear and Bucky was trembling again, Steve pressed their brows together and meeting Bucky’s eyes asked, “How do you want it?” 

Bucky threw both legs about him and drew him close. Steve must have seen the answer in his eyes, because he kissed Bucky again and said, “Alright.” He gathered his knees up beneath him, tucking close and wrapping Bucky up in his arms before letting loose. Bucky was only vaguely aware he’d probably bruise from the force of it later; he was far too busy being filled in every way. 

Steve rode him fast and hard and deep, only alternating for the occasional long draw out before ramming home again. Bucky clung to him with all his limbs, fingers digging into the powerful muscles of the Alpha’s back. Steve’s head was beside his, and Bucky’s body was only more spurred on by the sounds of his harsh breaths. The scent of Steve was everywhere and Bucky could feel the need to lock drawing upon him. He clung closer with all the strength he yet possessed and a moment later found himself awash in pleasure as he came. Steve thrust through his orgasm, knot thickening. With one final push, they sealed together and Bucky gasped against his heart beating a million miles a minute in his chest. 

Despite the fact that Steve ought to be riding his own high as his orgasm drew out, body releasing continuously in a vain attempt to impregnate the Omega beneath him, he pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked down at Bucky. “You okay?” 

Bucky wasn’t capable of articulation beyond moans, so he gave him one and kissed him. 

His first heat of the year passed after a week, and by the end of it, Bucky was on cloud nine. He returned to work and had to endure constant teasing from his co-workers, a good number of whom were his friends, and could get away with a few more intrusive comments. 

“Sure you’re not pregnant?” Clint asked for the third time. 

“Positive,” Bucky replied, rolling his eyes. 

“I’m just saying,” the other Omega replied with a shrug. “I’ve only ever really seen our lot be that happy after two things: a bonding and getting knocked up.” He squinted slightly, leaning close. “You’re not…” 

Bucky shoved at his shoulder. “I’m not bonded either, you idiot!” 

“I don’t get it,” Clint said, shaking his head as he tapped a group of papers together. 

Bucky just smiled and turned his chair to take in the exterior cameras. 

He and Clint had a deep, abiding friendship, so when he felt Clint’s nose against his neck his first reaction wasn’t violence. “Get off!” he replied with a laugh, one arm gently shoving. 

Clint inhaled deeply, swaying slightly with the motion, before straightening and moving back to his own chair. “I really don’t get it.” 

Bucky scanned the camera outputs before turning to his friend. “I just found a really dedicated Alpha to help me out this year,” he explained, unable to stop the widening grin on his face. “A really, really dedicated Alpha. I mean, like he’s fucking amazing at it, Clint!” 

Clint leaned back, extending his legs and rocking his chair from side to side slightly. “And you’re not planning to keep him?” 

All of Bucky’s friends - his family, hell most everyone who knew him well, despite how much he’d rather keep his pathetic desperation to himself - knew his situation. Clint better than most. Bucky’s eyes trailed over the swell of Clint’s belly. He was happy for his friends, but at the same time, it was hard sometimes to be an outsider to their happiness. They’d never treated him any differently - especially Clint and Natasha - but there was something oddly alienating about someone close to you getting to experience everything you wanted so strongly. Bucky only felt more and more isolated as his social circle began to shrink until he was the last one left without a partner. He’d stopped going to a lot of events because being the only Stag in a happily paired off and reproducing group physically _ached_ and only made him more unhappy at the reminder that he just wasn’t good enough. 

Clint and Natasha however, would not let him bow out of all his relationships so easily and circumvented his emerging pattern by inviting him to smaller, more intimate gatherings. He was often at their home or going out to dinner with them. And when he’d dodged them a little too effectively a smidgen too long one or both would show up at his home to either drag him out or invade. Bucky was comfortable with them; so much so that often they’d encounter situations where people would assume they were a triad. Sometimes they’d correct them. Sometimes they’d ignore them. Sometimes they’d play into it. It really depended on the situation. When they played into it however, Bucky always felt hazy with the imaginary situation and would end up feeling severely low about himself for days after. He never found himself not wanting to play along though, no matter how depressed it left him later. And he always felt like a shitty friend, no matter how much he enjoyed it while it lasted. 

Bucky sighed. “He’s contracted. He came into my life through an agency. OVID’s paying.” 

Clint’s brows rose. “You went contract this year?” 

Bucky shrugged. “I just wanted to know everything would be taken care of, you know.” 

Clint nodded. It had been a few years since it’d been an issue for Clint, but it wasn’t the sort of thing an Omega ever forgot. His friend’s fingers folded over his middle and his cupped hands followed the sweep down until his arms were almost hugging his belly. “Are you going to-”

Bucky shook his head a little too fiercely. “You know how I feel about that, Clint.” 

“I know. I just thought maybe…”

“No.” 

Clint sighed quietly, then asked after a moment, “Can I see him?” 

Bucky’s smile was instantaneous. He’d been wanting to share his good fortune for _days_. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone. 

Clint watched with a smile of his own. When the phone was turned around the smile stuttered and he openly gaped. “Shit, Bucky.” 

“I know, right?” 

Clint grabbed the phone and peered down at it. 

Bucky squirmed in his chair, practically climbing into it in his excitement. 

“This is seriously him?”

“Where else would I get such a nice pic of such a hot Alpha?”

“A porn site?” 

Bucky laughed and leaned forward. “No, that’s really him.” He reached over and began swiping. He was smugly satisfied with the way Clint’s eyes continued to widen and his mouth hung open. When Clint finally looked up questioningly, Bucky held his hands apart, laughing hard when Clint cursed at him and threw his phone at his head. 

 

“My friends are jealous of you,” he informed Steve during their next heat together. Steve paused, lifting his head from between Bucky’s legs. No Alpha had ever been so invested in Bucky’s cock before and he _loved_ it. Bucky grinned at him. “They’re all mated so they missed out on the chance to contract you.” 

Steve huffed softly, twisting his fingers expertly in Bucky’s ass. “You keep saying I constantly surprise you, but you do the same thing,” he replied. 

Bucky moaned, arching into the touch as Steve leaned forward and ran his tongue up the underside of Bucky’s cock. Sure, it wasn’t the main event during a heat, but that didn’t mean it didn’t still _work_. And the fact that Steve knew that and was mindful of it made the pleasure flood twice as intoxicatingly through his system. “Me?” he gasped after a moment, catching on to what Steve had said. 

Steve hummed. Since Bucky’s cock was in his mouth when he did it, Bucky responded with a low groan. Leaning back, the Alpha wrapped long fingers about his shaft and began an excruciatingly slow gliding motion that just _barely_ tugged Bucky’s skin along for the ride. “Yeah, you,” he said, mouth quirked in a small smile Bucky had never seen before. “Usually, things go the other way.” Steve didn’t like to discuss clients with clients and Bucky respected that. Steve also made it a point to never mention the fact that he was doing a service which he also performed for others in the same contracted duration. But every now and again, Bucky supposed he caught him off guard and Steve slipped. Never enough to be disrespectful, but enough that Bucky felt honored by his honesty. 

He snorted. “They buy into the whole thing, huh?”

Steve hummed his agreement. 

“Yeah, well…” Bucky arched with a gasp, trying to shove his cock up into Steve’s grip - just short of maddening in the way it was only the right amount of pressure and nowhere near enough. “I’m not most Omegas.” 

Steve laughed, low and open. The sound of it sent a new wave of arousal washing through Bucky’s nerves. “Yeah, I’m discovering that.” 

 

“You know, I didn’t quite believe it when Clint explained, but this…” Natasha looked him up and down. Bucky just grinned at her. She gripped his chin and lifted it, inspecting his neck, then walked around him, pushing his head forward and tugging his collar down. 

“I’m not mated,” he informed her flatly. 

“I can see that,” she replied. Stepping back, she folded her arms across her chest and looked him over. “Take off your shirt.” 

“Tasha!” he objected. 

“Shirt. Off.” She said it in a friendly manner, insistent but not demanding. When the occasion called for it she could Alpha Bucky better than anyone he knew - with the possible exception of Steve now, but then they were sharing his heats, so it made sense - but she never pressed unduly. 

Bucky rolled his eyes and yanked his shirt off, dropping it to his side, dangling in one hand. 

Natasha circled him, touching him gently every now and again. She dropped down in front of him after several moments and pressed her nose below his belly button, inhaling deeply. 

“Well,” commented Clint from the doorway. “Nice to know the rounder I get the less attractive I am.” 

“She doesn’t believe me either,” Bucky informed him. 

“Coming off your second heat glowing?” Clint scoffed in return, passing them to open the refrigerator. “Who would?” He pulled out the orange juice and uncapped it. “That’s two in a row now.” 

Bucky threw up his hands, shirt swinging and nearly catching him in the face. “He’s contracted!!” 

“That doesn’t mean shit and you know it,” Clint replied around the mouth of the bottle. 

Bucky jerked at the unexpected sensation of Natasha licking him. “Nat, what the hell!!” 

She leaned back with a heavy sigh, hands about his hips. “You’re not pregnant.” 

“Yeah, because I’m not contracting him for _breeding_ services,” he drawled. “We use condoms!” 

There was a frown to her brow and she stood. Taking his shirt from him, she straightened it out then held it up for him to slip back into. The Alphas in his life - Natasha especially - were always doing things like that. It was both frustrating in its reminder of what he was lacking and so thoughtful that it left an ache in his heart that any Alpha would care enough to give him even the most minor personal attention. Especially when he wasn’t oozing pheromones. 

After his shirt was settled, Natasha gripped him by the base of the head and drew their brows together, squeezing gently. Bucky relaxed into the loving hold and everything was forgiven. “So,” she said, crossing over to her mate and taking the bottle of juice out of his hand. 

“Hey!” he protested.

Natasha shoved a bottle of water in his grasping hands and Clint sighed heavily. 

“When do we get to meet him?”

Clint perked, slight forgotten as he looked expectedly at Bucky. 

“Uh...you _don’t_ ,” Bucky replied, confused. “He’s _contracted_.”

Natasha waved a hand as if his statement didn’t mean anything. 

“ ** _I_** don’t even see him unless I’m in heat.” At Natasha’s raised brow he added, “Yes, he’s _that_ busy!” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the web page. “Look, see!” he said, holding it out for her to view. 

Natasha deftly plucked the phone from his hand and leaned in to peck him sweetly against the temple. Clint laughed as Bucky blinked, Natasha walking smoothly away from them, Bucky’s phone in hand. 

“You make it too easy!” Clint informed him as his mate moved to sit on the couch in the living room. He slapped a hand to Bucky’s back, sliding his arm around him. “Come on, you just got off a cycle. And I’m pregnant. We get to eat fun stuff!!” 

Bucky sighed and accepted the fact that he would not be getting his phone back any time soon. He was only slightly grateful his heat was over for the month and so Natasha wouldn’t be able to intercept any messages from Steve. 

“What do you want?” he asked Clint; cooking would at least take his mind off Natasha’s snooping. 

“Psh!” Clint replied, flagging a hand. “Phil’s home. He can cook. PHIL!!” 

“So pregnancy ruins your autonomy,” Bucky drawled. “Good to know.” 

“Just wait,” Clint replied, looping their arms together. “When it finally pans out, you’re going to love every minute of it!” He grinned at him. “Really, this…” He gestured down at his belly with his free hand and leaned in. “Drives them fucking _crazy_. They’ll do anything for you!” 

Bucky shook his head. “You’re so fucking spoiled.” 

Clint merely beamed at him. “Yup!” 

 

Bucky liked Phil. He was the kind of Alpha Bucky had always wanted for himself. Sort of like Steve, now that he thought about it. Phil never used his Alpha nature to push anyone around and in fact, it was often easy to forget he was an Alpha at all. Clint’s other mate - and leave it to his idiot friend to luck out and double mate - was in Homeland Security. He was around so little, it was ridiculously easy to forget Clint even had another mate. But when Phil was home, there was a certain peace to the household that was difficult to miss. Bucky still wasn’t sure how the three of them did it. Natasha and Phil were not intimate with each other, though they were happy enough to be intimate with Clint at the same time whenever he wanted it - and Phil was around. And yet there was a certain camaraderie about them that was difficult to find in Alphas who shared a living space while mated. Bucky supposed it came from having to deal with Clint all the time and their mutual, unconditional love for him. 

Phil was gentle in nature and while he could be as dangerous - perhaps even more so - than any fully trained Alpha in defense of their own, he was generally easy to be around. Bucky found he always felt extra relaxed when Phil was home, even if he didn’t see him. It might have to do with how happy it made Clint - Omegas who were close could affect one another’s moods fairly regularly - or the way the house just pulsed with the combined might of two strong Alphas. Whatever the case, Bucky found it ridiculously easy to hang around longer than he usually felt comfortable when Clint’s household was at capacity. Today - sated from another well met heat cycle, and with both Alphas in residence - was no different. 

“You’re looking well, Bucky,” Phil commented, spatula in hand. 

“I’m finally not scrabbling around to get my shit together,” he replied around a mouthful of obscenely decadent French Toast. Everybody ate better when Phil was home. 

“He found an Alpha to take care of him,” Clint informed his mate eagerly. 

Phil didn’t outwardly react, but Bucky could see his nostrils flaring from where he sat. “I’m not mated and I’m not pregnant,” he reiterated. 

“I still don’t know _why_ ,” Clint drawled, pouring more syrup on his own meal. 

“Clint. Sugar,” Natasha called from the living room. 

Clint made a face at Phil. His male mate crossed over to him and rubbed noses, before removing the syrup from his immediate reach. Clint made a hurt sound and turned to Bucky. “I take it back. You don’t want this life.” 

Bucky snorted at his friend’s distress. 

Neither of his mates seemed immediately concerned by it though. Natasha was quiet and Phil set the syrup down on the counter by the stove. Clint had always had a bit of a thing for extremes - sweet, sour, spice - Bucky suspected it was getting worse now that he was pregnant. He did not envy either of his friend’s mates having to deal with curbing him. 

“Are they doing a good job?” The question came out casually, but Bucky knew better. For all that their numbers had grown since the post-war baby boom, Omegas were still grossly outnumbered and general concensus regularly swayed between treating them like gold and treating them like disposable lust receptacles. Omegas had it a lot easier now a days than their predecessors, but sometimes it seemed like there were too _many_ options. It made it hard to read people. 

Any Alphas that were stable enough to have Omegas in their social groups they weren’t actively fucking tended to get extremely protective and territorial of them, as if in compensation. Unbonded Omegas being especially susceptible to their Alpha friends’ well meant intentions. As the last unbonded Omega in their friend group, Bucky endured a lot of Alpha posturing. He understood and appreciated the sentiment behind it so he tried not to let it affect him - even if some days were harder than others. It had certainly come in handy on more than enough occasions. And despite the fact that the love and affection were different from what he so desperately needed at his core, it was enough to keep him going. Not quite enough to keep hope alive, but a reassurance that not all Alphas were assholes. And that if he ever needed them, they would all come, whatever the cause. 

“Whatever he’s doing, he’s got Bucky living on a cloud,” Clint commented, sullenly poking at his food. 

“He’s very attentive,” Bucky assured Phil. “He has to be, it’s his job.” 

He knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as it was out of his mouth. Phil straightened and put the spatula down for starters. He turned, and it wasn’t the sort of movement Bucky was used to seeing from him at home. It was the Agent of the government, I will fuck up your entire life, sort of motion. Bucky actually recoiled instinctively. He trusted Phil, but the Alpha wasn’t hiding what he was in that moment and it made Bucky’s entire being want to hurry up and appease him so he wouldn’t hurt him. It was a ridiculous notion, Bucky fully admitted it - Phil would never hurt him and he could more than hold his own - but it was hard to argue with instincts. 

“You _contracted_?” he said, a dangerous edge to his voice. 

“What’s wrong with contracting?” Clint asked from beside him, straightening. It was something he was able to do only because of the mating bond they shared. He was also acting on instinct; an attempt to protect his fellow Omega by drawing his mate’s attention to himself. 

Phil didn’t look at him, eyes fixed on Bucky. “I want to see your contract.” It wasn’t a request. 

Bucky swallowed and edged off his seat. “Natasha…” He gestured helplessly to his right. “Natasha has my phone.” If he were on his suppressants, Bucky knew he wouldn’t be affected. There were many, varied, specifically intricate reasons Omegas made up the brunt force of military special forces the world over. And Bucky was the _best_. Everyone knew that. But off his suppressants, in Alpha territory, and unmated...instinct came first - something he’d always hated - the only means most Omegas had had available to them for centuries to keep them alive. It was difficult to fight them, especially when it came unexpectedly from someone he trusted. 

Arms wound about him and he felt Natasha press into his back. She tossed his phone at Phil who caught it and left without another word. Clint got up from his seat and moved to embrace Bucky, Natasha shifting to draw both of them close. She didn’t make any soothing noises or voice any reassurances, just held them until Bucky stopped shaking. 

“Are you okay?” Clint asked sometime later. 

Bucky nodded and scrubbed at his face. “I should probably go.” 

“No,” Clint responded. “You need to stay. Phil has to apologize and explain what the fuck that was about!” 

Natasha nuzzled Bucky behind his ear, hand smoothing back Clint’s hair. “He didn’t mean to scare you,” she explained. “He’s just wound a little tight over his last assignment. It didn’t end well.” 

“Why didn’t he _tell_ me?!” Clint asked affronted. 

Natasha smoothed her hand over his belly and Clint snorted. 

“I’m pregnant, not an invalid!” 

“Stress,” she reminded him. 

“I swear, the both of you!!” 

Natasha kissed him, slow and deep. 

Usually Bucky tried to avoid them when they engaged so intimately - mate to mate - but Natasha still had an arm about him, holding him close, and he wasn’t secure enough yet to leave the safe harbor she was offering. So he pressed his face to her shoulder and waited it out. Luckily he didn’t have to wait long. 

Natasha rubbed his back and pressed a kiss to his hairline. “Phil’s just worried about you, Bucky. About how safe you are.” 

He released a low, only slightly wavering exhale of defeat. “I know.” 

“And he’s not used to you--”

“Like this, I know.” 

She patted his back. “He’ll feel horrible about it when he calms down. Come on, let’s go snuggle on the couch.” 

Neither Omega objected. 

Phil did indeed return after about an hour, head hanging and Bucky’s phone at his side. He approached them slowly and got down on his knees in front of them, respecting the boundary of both Natasha’s protection and Bucky’s personal bubble. He sat back and offered Bucky his phone which Bucky took after only a minor internal hesitation, before launching into an apology so heartfelt that Bucky couldn’t really stand to let him continue. Unfortunately, Clint insisted, so he sat uncomfortably while Phil explained how an agency named Hydra had used Omegas natural biological requirements against them. Creating contracts which had essentially landed the Omegas in sexual enslavement. Bucky really didn’t want to hear it, because it made him both enraged that because of his injury there was nothing he could do about it any longer, and sick to his stomach that so many of his own had thought they were taking control of their lives, only to end up in a hell hole. The fact that most hadn’t survived, and the few who had were in for a lifetime of therapy and hospitalization didn’t help. 

By the time Phil finished, Bucky was walled in on all sides. An Alpha on each side and Clint wedged against him between them. He was horrified, but grateful all the same. He nuzzled Phil’s jaw until the Alpha relaxed against him. 

“Thanks, Phil,” he murmured. “I know you probably just jeopardized your career for sharing that.”

Phil shook his head. “I was out of line. I shouldn’t have been so rough with you.” 

“I’m a big boy,” Bucky replied. “I can handle it.”

“You’re off suppressants and imprinted on an Alpha who isn’t around. You’re vulnerable and I exploited that. I’m sorry. You’re my friend; the last thing I want to do is make you feel unwelcome.” 

“You’re spending the night, right?” Clint asked from below his own chin. 

Bucky sighed. 

“You’re spending the night,” Clint informed him. “I don’t think any of us are going to be able to sleep after that, and definitely not with you alone and vulnerable hanging over us.” 

“I have military grade weapons in my apartment,” he informed him. “And a doorman. Who’s a Beta.” 

“You’ll sleep in the middle with me.” 

“I’ve _killed_ people. With my bare hands,” he reminded him. 

“You’re off suppressants, I’m pregnant and Phil owes us at _least_ three apology meals. Don’t make me hold you here at arrowpoint.” 

Bucky heaved a sigh. “I didn’t bring anything.” 

“What’s wrong with your skin?”

“Clint,” his mates groaned. 

“What?!” 

 

“I am _so_ sorry about this,” Bucky greeted Steve with a heavy sigh. 

For his part, Steve didn’t look all that surprised - or all that intimidated, which really did things to Bucky that had no business being involved in his present position; even _if_ his heat would be starting in a few hours. Light glinted off the metal of the sword tucked casually between them, Wade’s other arm about Bucky’s middle and his body pressed up against his back. Really, Bucky had known better. He had. But Phil and Natasha had insisted - and Clint had undoubtedly goaded them on until casual interest became some kind of protective paranoia - and Bucky had figured if letting them meet Steve and see that he was a nice, unthreatening Alpha just before would keep them from staking out his apartment during his heat - because he knew they **would** \- then it would be worth the time, aggravation, posturing and threats. Unfortunately, Clint had opened his big mouth and told Darcy he was getting to meet ‘Bucky’s Super Alpha’. Darcy - who was in a happily balanced Alpha-Beta-Omega triad - had a habit of going home and telling her mates _everything_. In concern, Jane - her Beta - had called Pepper, who happened to be with Tony, who immediately called Rhodey, who, of course, called Phil. Thor - Darcy’s Alpha - mentioned it to Peter, who told Wade who demanded he be present to ‘fuck up’ Bucky’s ‘heat toy’ if it came to it. Bruce - the only _sane_ person in their friend group - had called Bucky to give him a head’s up. And that was how Bucky had ended up with four Alphas, a Beta and three fellow Omegas in his apartment an hour before Steve was set to arrive. The only thing that had saved him from complete and utter embarrassment - as if it weren’t bad enough - was the fact that because it was such short notice, several people hadn’t been able to clear their schedule in time for the meeting. Peter had come, even though he hadn’t been able to get the time off, because they were all well aware that he was the only one who could rein Wade in. 

Steve shifted his weight, using the motion to take in the group, even as Bucky (and Wade’s sword) motioned him in. Bucky shut the door behind him and followed him into the living room where the group waited, Wade still plastered to his back.

“This is about Hydra,” Steve said, eyes holding Phil’s. It was a plain statement; without question, though there was a weariness to his tone. 

Phil regarded him coolly. “This is about Hydra,” he agreed. 

“I’ve only ever worked at Shield,” Steve informed them. He was calm, actively passive, but Bucky could practically _feel_ the contempt in him. 

It seemed like the other Alphas could too though, because they all took him in with measured gazes. At his back, Wade’s body was tensing for a fight. His hand had slid low, centered over what was vastly considered equally both an Omega’s greatest strength and their most obvious weakness. It wasn’t the first time one of Bucky’s Alpha friends had done as much to him - it was a protective instinct they often failed to realize - but where he had always found it comforting before, he felt a gnawing irritation now. 

Steve sighed - more to relieve tension, Bucky thought. “What Hydra did…” He stopped, hands curling into fists and inhaling deeply. Bucky could see the ticking of his jaw. He could tell Phil, Wade and Natasha were in full agreement without prior consultation - they wanted to hear what he had to say. Were testing his reactions to be absolutely certain he was safe to leave Bucky alone with. And while Bucky could understand their reasoning, and even respect their concern, this close to heat, he really had no patience for it. Unfortunately, much to his own displeasure, he’d begun to scent already. Pheromones wafting free of his skin in thickening waves that only further complicated the situation. An unbonded, fertile Omega coming into estrus in an apartment full of healthy, capable Alphas, all of whom he shared emotional ties to - to varying degrees. At present, Steve’s imprint was strong enough that the others wouldn’t consciously challenge him over something like biology. Especially since they were all mated, and in the case of three of them, in the presence of their mates. But, if they thought for any reason at all that Bucky was in danger or did not feel comfortable stepping away, it would be a fight. And Bucky would find himself herded away into a safe corner with Clint, Darcy and Peter to wait out the destruction of his apartment. Which would likely end in him being forced to ride out his heat alone. After being nearly smothered in Alphas, the mere _thought_ of it…

He didn’t mean to make any noise, but he had all the same. The pained sound drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Wade bumped his nose against the back of Bucky’s head and drew him close to check his front for injury. Perhaps concerned he’d caught him against his blade. 

Steve met his eyes, and Bucky watched the fight go out of them. The anger draining from his system leaving a visible change in him. He straightened, chin lifting and turned to the others as Peter crossed over - taking a slightly wider path around the unfamiliar Alpha - and pressed up against Bucky, head tipping back over his shoulder, which immediately enraptured Wade. Bucky could feel him relax against him and Peter eased Bucky from his grasp, taking his place. Bucky swept a hand over Peter’s hip in thanks as he stepped free - knowing well enough to remain in Wade’s bubble until things were settled, else risk an unprovoked incident; Wade could be difficult to predict. 

“Is this an intervention?” Steve asked the group at large. 

Clint stood from his seat and moved between his mates, looping his arms in one of each of theirs to ground them. “No,” he replied cheerfully. “We really did just want to meet you. Well, Darcy and I really, really wanted to meet you. The rest of them are here for the bragging rights.” 

“Hi!” Darcy said, stepping into focus with a small wave. “And can I say, wow. I mean, my Alpha is a _God_ , but you’re just…” She waved her hands around, as if to encompass all of him, then squeezed both hands together tightly and bit her lower lip, making a rumbling sound. 

“Darcy!” Jane gasped, catching her mate by the shoulders. 

“What?!” Darcy defended. “Look at him! He’s absolutely _perfect_! No wonder Bucky’s glowing! It’d be physically impossible not to after having his-” 

“Darcy!” Jane dropped a hand over Darcy’s mouth, the Omega’s nostrils flaring above her skin. Jane turned to Steve. “I am _so_ sorry! Darcy’s just…”

Steve smiled, some of the tightness in his shoulders easing in amusement. Omegas wanting him was familiar territory. Even if it was just a playful flirt from a happily - and well cared for, Bucky fucking knew - bonded Omega. “It’s all right, I understand.” 

Bucky inched closer to Steve. Steve, who had weathered a psychological ambush by putting Bucky’s needs first. No one had ever put him first, and Bucky wanted to shove Steve down and ride him and he didn’t care who the fuck was around to see. 

That thought might have come across rather loudly if the way Steve’s head swiveled, eyes focusing on him was any indication. He inhaled deeply and didn’t exhale right away. Bucky swallowed thickly, feeling the spike in arousal like a full bodied _burn_. 

“Well,” Pepper said, clearing her throat. She was taking covert inhales through her slightly parted lips, Bucky noticed. “I think we’ve done enough damage for today.” She shooed at the group with her hands. 

Clint grinned and started for the door, towing his mates along behind him. Pregnant belly looking almost like the bow of a ship as he navigated the hormonal soup the air had become. “Really nice to meet you,” he told Steve as he passed him. 

Steve nodded. 

Jane ushered Darcy out by the shoulders. The smallest Omega pausing by Steve and making a sweeping motion with both hands before giving a full bodied tremble. “You smell _amazing_!!” she informed him. “SO AMAZING!” Jane gave her an extra nudge and Darcy tipped sideways, stumbling into Jane’s embrace. “Did you _smell_ him?” she asked her mate, leaning into her side. She gave an appreciative moan. “Bucky’s so lucky!” 

“Let’s get you home,” Jane consoled. “I think you and Bucky may have synced again.” 

“Come on Wade,” Peter said, tugging his mate’s arm. “We’re going to be late picking up Ellie.” 

Wade sheathed his blade and threw an arm about Peter. “When are _you_ going to give me one?” 

Peter huffed a snort. Their daughter had been born of a dalliance with a Beta in Wade’s past. When her mother had died, social services had tracked Wade down. He and Peter - who had been only courting at the time - suddenly found themselves with a baby. Strangely enough, Ellie had brought them closer together. Wade’s love and dedication to his child cementing Peter’s decision to mate with him. They’d been so busy raising their child and with Peter’s body in full nesting mode, dissipating his heat cycle sans suppressants, they hadn’t much had time for any of the ‘fun stuff’ as Wade liked to call it. A lot of people tried to put the blame on Peter’s heat loss, but Wade had equally stopped going into rut, and saw no reason anyone but them should be concerned about it. Which was for the best, because no one dared bad mouth Wade’s family within earshot. 

But with Ellie in Kindergarten, and their cycles still gone, Bucky knew Peter was beginning to feel the strain. He was younger than Bucky, but he’d had a more difficult home life and he craved a family with an intensity that could startle. Thankfully, he was mated to Wade. It was hard to be surprised by Peter after meeting Wade. They were a perfect match. 

“You should hang out with Bucky more now that he’s cycling,” Wade informed his mate. “Maybe it’ll rub off.” 

“Maybe,” Peter conceded. 

Bucky made a mental note, because it wasn’t the worst idea. He’d talk to Peter after his heat was over. If he could be of any help, he’d damn well do his best. Peter was a good guy, he deserved all the babies he could happily endure.

Pepper was the last out the door, smiling at them pleasantly, before closing it behind her. Bucky heard the lock engage and knew Pepper had used her clearance as one of his Alpha powers to lock them in - and everyone else out. She could have engaged the scent flush, but she didn’t and Bucky was grateful she hadn’t. For all the scents swimming around his apartment during a heat could make things uncomfortable, at the moment a scent flush could have broken the mood. If anything, the additional scents seemed to be provoking Steve, who turned to face him, jaw set. Bucky had never seen him anything but pleasant or passionate, and it turned him on like he’d never been turned on before. 

He practically threw himself at Steve, hands yanking at his belt and fly. “I’m so sorry about that,” he husked, in a rush. The heavy sound of Steve’s belt hitting the floor deeply satisfying. “I didn’t know that it’d turn out that way or I never would have-” 

“It’s fine,” Steve replied, catching his shoulders in strong hands. “I understand.” 

Bucky yanked Steve’s shirt open, sending buttons flying. “Yeah, but…” 

“They love you,” Steve told him. “They wouldn’t have been so close to challenging me over you if they didn’t.”

He paused, fingers tangled in the fabric of Steve’s shirt. “I don’t think it would have been a fight.” 

“Maybe not. I definitely wasn’t helping.” He heaved a sigh, hands smoothing over Bucky’s arms. “I’m sorry. It’s just...the whole thing makes me _so **angry**_.”

Bucky nosed the underside of his jaw in support. 

“Look at you...you’re _shaking_! Bucky, I’m so sorry!” 

“It’s fine,” he gasped, practically climbing Steve, one leg thrown up high over his hip. “It’s fine! Just…” He rocked into Steve, mewling at the hard length still trapped in clothing. “ _Please_!” 

“Okay, Buck,” Steve soothed. “Okay…” 

Bucky gasped, wrapping every limb about him as Steve hoisted him up into his arms. It took him very few strides to carry Bucky into the bedroom and drop him into the downy softness Bucky only ever tolerated when he was heat high. 

Steve made quick work of stripping them both and rolled a condom on one handed as Bucky squirmed in need beneath him. 

“Steve...Steve…” 

“I’m here. Shh...I have you.” 

“No, no…” Bucky whined and Steve immediately froze. Bucky made a hurt noise and dragged him close with both arms about his neck. “Don’t be gentle with me, Steve! Please, not now.” 

Steve relaxed into the guiding motion, allowing himself to be drawn close. 

Bucky buried both hands in golden hair and gripped tight. “Fuck me, Steve,” he gritted out, through clenched teeth, body coiled tightly against the lingering scents drifting through his apartment. “I want you deep and hard and fast. I want you to take me like you need me and I want you to bite me.” 

“Are you sure?” Steve asked, eyes slightly wide. 

“Yes,” Bucky replied. “Mark me up! I can’t take it! I feel all tangled up and I-”

“I know,” Steve murmured, sinking into the bed and kneeing Bucky’s legs open; pushing forward until he was bent nearly in half. He planted his hands on either side of Bucky’s chest and holding his eyes, entered him in one smooth, strong glide. 

A clearer headed Bucky would not be proud of the sound he made or the way his face contorted as he was filled so efficiently. Thankfully, small embarrassments were easily lost in the heat haze. 

Steve dropped their brows together and began to thrust, holding Bucky’s gaze captive. Their noses rocked against one another and they panted into one another’s mouths as he quickened the pace, nearly drawing out entirely before slamming back in. Bucky keened, chest arching and hands scrabbling at the Alpha’s chest. 

The soundtrack to the first hour of Bucky’s third heat became the sharp slap of skin, harsh gasps, heightening cries and the slide of the bed against the floor. By the time they were locked together, Steve’s back was sporting raised welts and Bucky’s neck and shoulders were peppered with the indentations of teeth, which Steve spent their knot time decorating with bruises. 

Bucky fell asleep sore and sated and slick with exertion to the pulse of Steve inside him.


	2. Steve

Steve Rogers was an Alpha with a very unique problem. 

Of course, the majority of his peers would not classify it as such. There had once been a time when he wouldn’t have either. To put it simply, Steve’s days and nights consisted of strings of unattached heats spent with various Omegas. He was paid very well to sexually satisfy unbonded Omegas - of which there seemed to be no end in sight - day after day, night after night, week after week, year after year. He’d fallen into the profession young and quite accidentally. A healthy, virtuous Alpha with an understanding of Omegas incompatible with his age. If he were honest with himself, it had started when he was a child. His need to protect and comfort everyone he felt was being treated unfairly had blossomed into a need to care and provide for all those whom were being neglected and abused. He’d quickly gained a reputation as the Alpha you took home to meet your parents - regardless of designation. He was the Alpha you called when you needed something during a heat and couldn’t trust anyone else to be near you. And he somehow became the Alpha you went to when you needed to feel valuable. 

Steve had ended up with a flock of Omega and Beta friends in college and had gotten into more fights than there were students in his dormitory. He hadn’t even been aware that becoming an Alpha Provider was a legitimate profession until one of his Omega friends had brought it up. She handed him a brochure and by the third page Steve was changing his major from Art to Omega Relations. Absolutely no one was surprised. 

He met Peggy in his first class. And while he had never managed to cultivate any Alpha relationships, there was just something about Peggy that drew him in. He seemed to have the same effect on her, and they became fast friends. When they’d graduated, Peggy had suggested starting their own Omega Services Corporation. She hadn’t been very impressed with any she’d applied to and neither had Steve. So the moment she’d gotten the financial backing, they were - quite literally - in business. 

Although Peggy had been working toward the same career as Steve, her meeting Colleen their senior year of college had put an end to any physical participation on her part. It wasn’t that Colleen minded - they’d met through an outreach program on campus - she’d known what Peggy’s major and plans were from the moment they met and had been nothing but fully supportive. It had everything to do with Peggy’s unflinching devotion to her beloved. Peggy and Colleen were the type of mated pair that Steve had always looked up to. They’d been made for each other, anyone could see it, and their happiness had brought Steve happiness, filling him with hope that someday he might be half as lucky. With the help of a Scandinavian transplant - no one quite knew _where_ Thor was from - and a few of Steve’s old squadmates from his Army days, they had a database fit for start up. There were five of them when their site had launched. They employed thirty now, most ex military - for the free embedded patience, training, diligence and stamina as Peggy liked to say - and all of the highest caliber. They had four Omegas on staff who all had to approve each new hire, and worked with them toward being more devoted providers. And several Betas who handled the bulk of the paper work and made sure they were up to code on everything. 

While it wasn’t a business killer, per se, they kept losing valuable Alphas to mating. Peggy liked to complain that as soon as one of their Alpha Providers reached Peak status, they’d go out on a job and never come back from it. One of the benefits of meeting and entertaining so many Omegas meant a greater exposure. There were no rules nor laws that directly stated a contracted Alpha could not stay with a contracting Omega if it was consensual. And they’d spent the last few years slowly losing wonderful workers to happy matings. Very few Omegas were content to allow their mates to continue on in their line of work as a Provider, encouraging them to take on more administrative duties or outright demanding a career shift. They did have three Alphas who were mated and still worked as Providers; Steve had no idea how they managed it and he did not intend to ask - it wasn’t his business. One pair at least made sense. For anyone meeting Thor and Loki could see they had enough passion between them for several partners. Thor was exceptionally attentive and was their next best Provider - after Steve - even if he only worked half the schedule Steve did - which often made him wonder who _really_ was their number one. Not that it was a competition. 

Thor was amazing at balancing out what could be complicated jobs and tended to take the more potentially explosive cases. He did a lot of Provider work for unmated expecting Omegas - though, like Steve, he also did not provide breeding services - and seemed to prefer it to heat work. Steve prefered heat work because he found he was able to keep himself less attached when he had to focus on someone else’s satisfaction being met, and exceeded. Loki, Thor’s mate, complained a lot about the attention Thor heaped upon his “whelping” peers - Loki had a unique way with language - but never seemed to be outright put out by it. They didn’t have any children of their own, and were both very mindful that they did not occur while Loki was “breaking in” any of the new Alphas. Steve didn’t actually know what their stance was on having a family. It never seemed to be an issue for them, though they had been mated longer than anyone Steve knew. 

Their services had also provided new mates for widowed Alphas on separate occasions. Frank had been the first. A tough, grizzled Army vet who had seen a lot - including the loss of his mate and children in an act of violence so horrifying it defied discussion. He’d been their reigning number one before suddenly finding himself contracted to an Omega who stirred up all of those old feelings. It had been a difficult situation for the entire company, but they had gotten through it. Frank still worked for Shield, but advisory - a decision he had made on his own, when he’d finally accepted his new mate into his life. The second had been Peggy herself. And if not for Frank, Steve didn’t know if they ever would have gotten her around. 

Peggy and Colleen had been Shield’s pedestal mated pair. They were who new recruits were brought to meet and told to remain attentive to. Their relationship was the kind Shield was offering for contracted rates - perfect (temporary) happiness and domesticity. Colleen was an engineer who absolutely loved her job and could happily talk your ear off about the smallest thing. Peggy had liked to joke that if an Alpha could survive an hour with Colleen chatting away at them, they were prime material for Shield operations. They adored and lived for one another and when Colleen became pregnant, the entire office celebrated. She took a leave from field work and began to spend her days at Headquarters, where the majority of the staff gained first hand experience with dealing with a pregnant Omega. Colleen had influenced some - like Thor - so deeply that Shield was able to adjust to changing times and offer new services with in training Alphas. It was something of a golden age. And then quite suddenly, out of nowhere, Colleen was struck by a vehicle. 

Everything came to a standstill, Shield temporarily closing its doors - as the entire staff converged on the hospital. Peggy was faced with the most difficult choice no one should ever be forced to make, and they all stood by her as she respected Colleen’s wishes and put the baby first. Peggy’s entire family went - barely clinging to life, but alive all the same - into the operating room. Only tiny Brigid came out. Peggy couldn’t even hold her premature daughter. Steve stayed beside her as she pressed herself to the incubator and cried and screamed and swore and very nearly ended up beside her mate. But Peggy was strong and she’d promised Colleen, and their baby needed her. Steve watched his best friend take on the burden of a half lived life for the benefit of a baby no one said would live long. It took a lot of time, money and energy, but eventually their little Birdie pulled through. Steve moved in with Peggy to help her with everything - there were days even living seemed to be too much - and by the time Birdie had caught up with her non-premie peers - a distinct feat Steve hadn’t managed until he was in his teens - Peggy was in need of a change. Steve would never be able to say why she did it, maybe it was even Colleen’s influence, but Peggy became a Provider. Just as she got the hang of it, she met Angie and everyone rejoiced at the return of their dear Peggy. She and Frank talked a lot. They began a support group and opened up a new branch of services at Shield for widowed Omegas. Life could come back into a person, and Steve had never been happier than the day he realized it had returned to Peggy. 

Angie was everything Peggy could have needed, and more. Unlike Colleen, half the time you couldn’t even tell Angie was an Omega. She was a force of nature, unafraid to voice her opinion or take on other’s troubles. She was strong and brave and bursting with life. When she became pregnant, Peggy backslid, but Angie kept her well in hand, and Peggy returned to normal once the baby was safely delivered and everyone was hale and whole. They named the baby Grant - after Steve - and he was Godfather and legal guardian should anything ever happen to both of their children. And while Birdie was aware that she looked like Steve because she looked like Colleen, and that her birth mother had passed away as she was born, she took great delight in confusing people by making up stories about her family unit and teasingly calling him her father - an act which always made Steve’s heart stutter. As soon as Grant was old enough, she was goading him into it as well and they liked to wreak havoc with everyone’s reputations for the sheer amusement of it. A fact that bothered none of the adults involved - hell, Angie sometimes not only encouraged it, but joined in. It didn’t help that he lived next door. Though that fact helped his unrestricted access, standing invitation to their home. Steve himself had no living family, and the ghost of it in Peggy and Angie’s home was sometimes enough to quell the quaking inside. 

Their home _felt_ like a home to him. Full of the vibrancy of life and its every day. He’d bought his home after a lot of careful consideration, wanting it for the exact purposes Peggy utilized it. At one time, he’d felt so close to achieving everything he’d ever dreamed - his mate waiting just out of reach beyond the horizon - that he’d felt compelled to rush. Angie had blamed his needs on the stressors of his job, without a mate to come home to, and with only them for family, influencing him unduly. In hindsight, she’d been right, but at the time, Steve had felt so sure it would be his reality soon. As time went by however, his home became more and more unwelcoming, a standing reminder of all the ways he’d failed. He began to seek greater comfort in the welcoming embrace of the Carters until he only slept in his home. Passing through for things he needed. He made more use out of his Shield Provider space, but was never able to be comfortable in it alone after it was scrubbed for availability to his next client. Which left him in a state of inbetween that called him to Peggy’s like a siren’s song. He was over so often, he was all but a permanent fixture.

“I don’t think I can do it any more, Peg,” he said into his coffee mug. 

“We haven’t seen you for three weeks,” she replied, taking a sip from her own and not even looking up from her tablet. “I’m not surprised in the least.” 

“You overbook,” Angie added from the stove, where she was preparing breakfast for the pups. She waved the spatula at him. “Don’t think I don’t know why!” It was an old argument he was not about to launch into so early in the morning, especially after being so long from the comfort of their company, and she knew it. 

Steve sighed and nursed his cup. 

“You need a vacation,” Angie said, dropping a plate of bacon on the table between himself and Peggy. 

“I need to retire,” he countered. 

She nearly dropped the spatula on him. He could feel the frantic look she was throwing Peggy, and Peggy’s piqued regard. They were both looking at him now, he knew. He imagined the look on Angie’s face would probably be priceless, but he didn’t have the heart to raise his eyes. 

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while now,” he confessed, eyes still downcast. 

Peggy reached forward and touched her mate. Angie shuffled sideways and almost stumbled as she returned to the stove. Either to attend to whatever was on it or to turn off the burners completely - he could never tell with Angie. 

“Steve,” Peggy said gently, resting her hands over his wrists. “What happened?” 

He swallowed, feeling suddenly over emotional. Pulling his hands away, he rubbed at his eyes fiercely, swallowing again, as they came away wet. “It’s...It’s this whole Hydra thing.” 

Peggy more than anyone, knew and understood how he felt about it. “Did it affect your client base?” 

“A little,” he admitted. He took a deep breath, releasing it far too shakily for his own liking. “I lost one to it completely. Got an odd interview out of a new potential - might have been an undercover; which was fun. Was confronted on my next two jobs. Matt was okay, but I think the whole thing spooked his on again off again Alpha. And Bucky…” His hands gripped his mug tightly. “Bucky was nearly an inquisition. _**Four**_ Alphas, at least three of them former military, by the looks of it. One most definitely armed, and at least another likely carrying concealed. Probably more. A beta. And three other Omegas, one of which I believe was in Special Ops with Bucky before.” He heaved a sigh and raked a hand through his hair. 

Angie had returned, and he only realized she’d knelt beside him when her arms wrapped around his middle and she pressed into his side. “Did they threaten you?” she asked, voice edged with a threat all her own. 

“They were just being protective,” he assured them both. “Wanted to feel me out, see if I was someone they could feel comfortable leaving their only unmated Omega around.” 

Angie made a sympathetic face - whether for himself or Bucky, he couldn’t tell. 

“And were you?” Peggy asked. 

Steve looked up at her. “Of course, I was, Peg! Believe me when I say, if they hadn’t thought I was, you would have gotten a phone call about it.” Neither of them needed to specify that it would be made by the hospital, closely followed by one from the police, and probably a lawyer or two. 

Peggy sighed and leaned back in her seat. “Leave it to a man like Pierce to fuck up a good thing for everyone,” she stated, extending her legs beneath the table. “I am so glad we went into business for ourselves and never entertained the idea of working with him. Could you imagine?”

He could imagine all too well, and that was part of the problem. 

“And what about Bucky?” Angie asked, propping her chin against his arm and looking up at him. 

“What about him?” he asked, confused. 

“How did he react to it?” 

Steve gave a one armed shrug, not wanting to lose the warm contact of Angie against him. She was so close to him that sometimes he could forget he was alone, without an Omega in his life. “He was embarrassed mostly.” He scratched at the back of his neck, somewhat embarrassed himself. “I was so backed up, I didn’t make it out to him until he was just about to go. He started going into heat right in the middle of the stand off.” 

Angie made a soft sound and patted his arm. “I’m sure you took care of him though.” 

“Yeah, yeah I did,” he assured her. 

“About Bucky,” Peggy began. 

Steve looked to her and raised a brow. “What about him?” 

She smiled at him and took a sip from her cup. “You get very defensive of him whenever he’s brought up,” she pointed out. He knew it wasn’t what she’d intended to say, and it irritated him slightly that she could reverse things on him so efficiently. 

“He’s my _client_ ,” he countered. “And a good man. Of course I’m going to defend him.” 

Peggy only grinned wider. “I don’t know, Steve,” she replied. “This seems _different_ to me.” 

Steve rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing at all different about it, Peg. You know I treat all of my clients with equal amounts of respect and dedication.”

Angie stroked his forearm. “How’d he handle all the overstimulation? It must have been hard on him, to have his space invaded like that at his most vulnerable.” 

A rumble made it’s way through Steve’s chest. “I took care of him!” he protested. 

“I know you did, sweetheart,” she replied, mouth quirking in one corner. “That isn’t what I asked.” 

Steve thought back on the week he’d just spent quite literally fucking Bucky on or against any available surface. Several times, he’d used his own body weight as a countermeasure, Bucky held securely in his arms as they knotted in the middle of a room just to flood it with their combined scents. His pulse picked up as he recalled the Omega’s desperate full body cling every time they came together. How he absolutely refused to be anywhere but in Steve’s arms until their frantic heat induced scenting had overtaken the lingering scents of the group intruding on their time together. He recalled distinctly how once they had soaked everything in their own scent, Bucky delighted in pressing his face into sheets and pillows and cushions as Steve took him in presentation. The arch of his back and the way his thighs shook, feet sliding beneath him to keep purchase. The feel of him around Steve’s cock and the tight way he’d clench up around him as Steve released into the condom. Bucky’s desperate pleas and heightening cries reverberated through him like the aftershocks of a gong. Steve could still smell him, as if he’d taken a part of him into himself and stored it in his _lungs_ , even though he had properly washed with scent scrubbers to prepare for his next client. If he thought about it, he’d been down since he realized he’d have to. Had stepped out of the shower with a heavier heart and a resignation he’d never felt before. 

He turned his mug around between his hands, arousal fleeing at the reminder that it’d be another four weeks before he’d see Bucky again.

“I like this Bucky,” Angie said, hugging Steve’s arm before standing and ruffling his hair. “You should keep him.” 

“I’ve thought about it,” Steve admitted. “But it’s not fair to my other clients, to amend my policy for one person.” 

Angie smiled. “Not what I meant.” 

“Steve,” Peggy asked as her mate went back to fixing breakfast. “When was the last time you went into rut?” 

He actually had to think about it. “I was...fifteen?” 

“You haven’t had any since?” she asked, surprised. 

“Well,” he replied. “You know my medical history. Birdie and I have the same condition. I designated late and when I did it all came on sort of in a rush all at once. I was hospitalized when I designated, and after…” He shrugged. “I don’t know, I went dormant, I guess. It’s never really been a problem. My doctors encouraged my profession, actually. Expecting being around so many Omegas in heat might jump start me or something. It just never did.” 

“Or you could be late,” Angie added helpfully. 

“There’s that too,” he agreed. 

“You know…” Peggy said thoughtfully. “There’s been a lot of developments recently that suggest premature infants lack the proper development to produce the hormones to designate. And by the time they catch up with their peers, they aren’t as influenced as others by the presentation - as it were - of potential mates.” She made a waving gesture with her hands. “They don’t know if it’s a choice or a specific trigger in the scent of an ideal match, but you wouldn’t be the first. You surely won’t be the _last_.”

“What’re you getting at, Peg?” 

“He wouldn’t get it if you wrote it in neon on a two by four and swung it at his head,” Angie commented, flipping eggs. 

They both ignored her. 

Peggy hummed to herself and picked up her tablet. 

Steve wanted to ask after her odd comment, but Birdie and Grant came into the room and he tucked it away for a later date. 

 

“You’re early,” Bucky greeted, blinking at him in surprise. 

Steve shifted the cake box to the hand his bag was tossed over and checked his phone. “Am I?” he asked with a frown. 

Bucky leaned in to peer at the screen when Steve pulled up his cycle’s schedule. “Am I late?!” he asked in surprise, turning to look at Steve. 

Tucking his phone back in his pocket, Steve gestured with his elbow. “Do you want to talk about it or should I come back in about twelve hours?” 

The Omega shook his head, gesturing him inside. “No, no, you’re already here, why should you have to make two trips?” 

Steve padded into the apartment and set his bag by the door. Bucky locked it before following him into the kitchen. 

“What’ve you got there?” he asked, trying to look over Steve’s shoulder. 

Setting the box down on the counter, he untied the bow and opened the lid. 

“Is that… _lemon_ cake?!” 

Steve grinned at him. Bucky had been craving lemon cake at the end of every cycle they’d shared so far. And Steve had spent the last two looking for a decent cake - which was a _lot_ harder than it sounded. It was hard to find a cake of the caliber Bucky spoke of with such fondness. There just weren’t that many bakeries that took an interest in the perfect balance of tart and sweet. Steve would know, he’d been buying sample cakes and trying them for weeks. Just as he’d been about to give up, he’d happened to mention it in passing to Angie in the kitchen one afternoon. She’d asked him when he needed the cake by and before he’d left that very morning, she’d presented it to him, a bright smile on her face. 

He’d been surprised, as she generally didn’t take much interest in his client list. As he’d been trying to figure out a good way to approach her sudden investment, she’d shooed him off with a, “It’s for Bucky, right? Go enjoy it together!” 

Bucky stuck his face over the cake, half leaning over Steve’s arm and inhaled deeply. A moment later, he moaned. “Is this home made? It has to be home made. No bakery makes them like that.” He turned abruptly and flailed slightly. 

“Bucky, are you okay?” 

“Where’s my cake knife?” he gasped, beginning to pull open drawers. He rummaged for a while before holding it up above his head with a loud, “Aha!” 

Steve smiled, warmth filling him at the sight of Bucky so happy. Bucky leaned over him - as he’d yet to move - and cut two large slices, setting each on a plate and handing one to Steve. The cake was no sooner in his mouth than he was moaning and leaning back into the countertop. 

“Oh my god, Steve!” he exclaimed, shoving another forkful in his mouth. “Who did you have to kill or fuck to get this cake? Because...lemme tell you...I would do either for more!” 

He took a bite himself, humming around the familiar texture of Angie’s home baked goods. “My best friend’s mate made it,” he informed him. “She knew I’d been looking for one - she agreed with you about the bakery thing, which I can also now confirm - and she had some free time, so she made me a fresh one before I left. We live in the same neighborhood; she met me at my car.” 

“She is a saint,” Bucky informed him, setting his now empty plate in the sink and moving the cake - box and all - over to the table. 

Steve smiled. “She really is,” he agreed. 

Bucky stretched, inhaling deeply. His shirt rode up, exposing some of his abdomen and Steve was glad he had cake in his mouth, because it gave him an excuse to swallow. He’d never experienced the kind of desire in fulfilling an Omega’s heat as he did when he was with Bucky. Which was not to say he had not enjoyed all the other times, or that he’d been working like an automaton. Steve genuinely enjoyed his profession and the way he could touch other’s lives with his gift. He’d always been an observant, attentive child with a sharp memory and he found coupled with his desire to help others, it made him extremely adept at his job. But, it had always been a distant, detachable scenario. Steve preferred heat cycles because he could control himself. And he was finding, with Bucky, the more heats he spent with him, the more he looked forward to the next, and the less he detached. Just the _thought_ of Bucky was causing him to pop knots at inconvenient times - it was like being a teenager all over again. He just couldn’t seem to get _enough_ of him.

They’d grown comfortable enough with one another that it felt very natural when Bucky invaded Steve’s space, slipping into his arms and sprawling across his chest. Bucky hadn’t been joking when he’d informed him he was clingy - Steve didn’t find it “needy” - and Steve would take any excuse to hold him close. When he was away from him, Bucky’s scent did things to him that left him longing. When they were together, it was like a warm blanket fresh from the sun or the dryer, draped over a too cool body. 

Bucky pressed his face into Steve’s neck, nuzzling his skin with his nose. His deep breaths tickled slightly, and Steve reached up to rub at his back. 

“I don’t know if you’re early or I’m late,” he said, pressing close and holding still for a moment. “But, I’m glad you came. It’s been a shitty week and I just wanted to be away.” 

“What happened?” he asked, tilting his head so he could lean it atop Bucky’s soft hair. 

Bucky wrapped both arms about him, hands catching at his back by his shoulder blades. “You remember my friend Darcy? The one who was really into you last month - and I am still sorry about that, by the way.” 

Steve hummed and nudged him with his nose for a moment. “I told you it’s fine. I’m glad you have people who care so much about you in your life.” He tugged him close, Bucky’s thighs sliding apart to allow his own between them. “I remember Darcy. Petite brunette with the Beta mate.” 

“Yeah, Darcy and Jane.” Bucky sighed, tucking closer. Steve elongated his strokes. “Turns out we did sync up last month. We used to do it a lot when we were both single and regular. It was such a pain in the ass, because we’d get these knot heads swaggering up wanting to take us both for a spin…” He shook his head. “Anyway…” 

Steve felt him swallow; wrapped about him tighter at the way Bucky curled close. 

“She’s…”

Oh…

Bucky inhaled shakily and released it as a sob. Steve drew him impossibly close and just held him. “She’s _pregnant_...” he choked out. “I’m so happy for her. For them. I really, really am…” 

Poor Bucky. The last unmated Omega in his friend group, and pregnancies springing up all around him. Steve had seen Clint’s belly last month when he’d left. Bucky and Clint were extremely close and Steve knew how hard it was on Bucky, feeling so happy for his friend and trying not to let the fact that he had no such happiness for himself poison the purity of it. He supposed it might be doubly so now that another close friend was in the family way. As an Alpha, Steve longed for a family just as much, but he thought, it was a different kind of longing. Bucky was feeling empty inside, with his body ramping up his heats every month to no avail. Part of that was Steve’s own fault. It wasn’t the first time it had happened. Some Omegas just responded really, really well to healthy, strong Alphas. Bucky happened to be one of them. Steve hated that he was making it worse for Bucky. Wondered if - like some of his former clients - Bucky was struggling with feeling a loss he couldn’t name as the months went on and each heat went more successfully than the last minus the end game his body so craved. 

“I know you are,” he soothed, kissing the top of his head. He held him while he cried, adding when he’d calmed somewhat, “It doesn’t make you a bad person to want what other people have, Buck. Especially when you see how happy they are. It’s not a crime to want happiness for yourself. I’m sure they know how you feel and feel for you in return.” 

Bucky didn’t respond immediately, instead taking slow, deep breaths. After a few minutes, he dropped his head to Steve’s shoulder and asked quietly, “Steve?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Can we...Will you…?” 

“Do you want to play out a breeding scenario?” he asked gently. 

Bucky nodded quietly. 

“Safely, of course,” he reminded. 

“Mmhmm.” 

“Anything you want, Buck.” He drew away just enough to tip Bucky’s chin back and meet his eyes. “Anything you want.” Bucky sighed into his mouth as he kissed him. 

As they lay in bed eating lemon cake their last night together, Steve knew he would not be able to get the sound of Bucky gasping out, “ _Breed_ me, Steve! Oh God, I want your pups!” out of his head any time soon. Nor would he be able to escape the way his own body had responded to the words, putting in the extra effort to comply, even though he knew the condom had them well in hand. 

 

The thing about their business was that there were _always_ Alphas looking to make some money doing something they thought they’d love. The screening process to get into Shield was long and arduous. It was intentionally geared toward frustrating the Alpha candidates by setting impossibly high standards said Alphas were expected to not merely achieve, but surpass. After all, Shield had a reputation to maintain and a standard of excellence to continually redefine. 

Steve and Thor as the highest ranking Alpha Providers took on training the new guys only once they’d been whittled down and vetted. They then had to fit that training around their very busy schedules. It was a learning curve for all involved. 

Today’s rising new star was a young Alpha by the name of “Johnny, please” Storm. 

“The first thing you need to always remember,” Steve informed him. “Is that everything you’ve ever seen or read is absolutely _wrong_. Movies, television, pornography...they’re geared towards Alphas and are extremely biased.” 

Johnny’s eyes slid sideways to take in Loki who was sitting on the lecture table like he was waiting to be served. Oddly enough he was reading “What to expect when you’re an expecting Omega”. Steve hadn’t been paying much attention before, but gave the book - and Thor - a second glance. 

Thor just smiled and shrugged. 

“So you can clear your head of that ‘quality’ education right now,” Steve said, still eyeing the mated pair sideways. He picked up the tablet and began scrolling through Johnny’s credentials. “Which you know...because you’re a porn star…” 

Johnny looked at him and smiled. “I actually do have a degree in this. People like to forget I’m smart because I’m so pretty.” 

Loki snorted, but didn’t look up from his book. 

“Look, I got into this because of a friend. He’s all mated up now and happy with a kid, and I thought porn would be a good substitute. But, even the soft stuff is absolute bullshit and I just wanna help people.” He grinned and crossed his arms. “And let’s face it, it’d be a terrible waste to just box all this up.” 

Loki put his book down and spread his legs. “If I have to hear you refer to yourself any more, I am going to rearrange ‘all that’. Prove it or get out, I don’t have time for this.” 

Johnny looked startled. He looked between Steve - who sighed and gestured at the dark haired Omega - and Thor - who just grinned at him. The young Alpha swallowed down his nerves and threw on a confident smile. “Anything you want, beautiful.” 

Loki rolled his eyes and reminded him he could always hit him with his book, as Steve and Thor stepped away. 

“So…” Steve said as Johnny got down to the task of trying to impress the only Omega Steve knew with standards so high they sent their logistics director Nick into paroxysmal fits. “Are you...expecting?” 

Thor’s grin widened and he clapped Steve on the shoulder excitedly. “Yes, we are expecting!” 

“Congratulations,” he replied warmly. “I’m happy for you.” 

“Thank you, my friend,” Thor said, giving him a squeeze. “We are eagerly awaiting the child’s arrival.” 

“Loki doesn’t look too thrilled,” Steve pointed out. 

They turned to look at the Omega who was less than impressed with Johnny’s “skills”. 

Thor laughed. “He is merely concerned. He will come to feel more comfortable once the child has arrived.” 

“Have you told Peggy yet?” 

“No. We are keeping it to ourselves until it becomes pertinent. We may not say anything for some time. There are...superstitions involved, you understand.” 

Steve knew pregnancy superstitions all too well. He nodded. “Well, best of luck. And if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call. I’d love to help in any way I can.” 

“Thank you, Steve. We greatly appreciate it.”

Loki dropped his book on Johnny’s head. 

“It begins,” Thor informed Steve with a wide, immensely pleased grin. 

Steve laughed. 

 

When Bucky opened the door, the force of his heat hit Steve and Johnny like a tsunami wave. 

“Did you go early?” Steve asked, surprised by how deep into the cycle Bucky was already. 

“Surrounded by fucking **_breeders_** ,” Bucky growled, leaning into the doorframe, grip on the door itself tight. 

Steve turned to Johnny, which seemed to provoke Bucky, because suddenly there he was, pressed all along Steve’s front, nose against his neck. 

“He can’t consent like this,” he told their new Shield apprentice. 

“Yeah,” Johnny replied, the vowels drawn out a little too long for Steve’s liking. His eyes were on Bucky and frankly, Steve couldn’t blame him. Bucky was absolutely fucking _gorgeous_ on his worst day. In full heat and tugging Steve’s clothes while attempting to burrow under his skin in nothing but a pair of loose pants… “Yeah.” Johnny cleared his throat, eyes sweeping down Bucky’s frame once before darting up to meet Steve’s. He took a slightly unbalanced step back. And then another, inhaling deeply. “I got that.” 

Steve smiled at him. He’d be all right. “I’ll ask him after about next month,” he informed him. 

Johnny’s eyes went to Bucky again, who was trying to get Steve’s attention - and it was one hell of a struggle to keep focused - by biting at the curve of his jaw. Small nips and gnaws, a few not so gentle sucks, little flicks of his tongue along Steve’s pulsepoint. Honestly, if he didn’t have another Alpha to wrangle, he’d have probably already been all over him. He really needed to work on his body’s increasingly erratic response to the Omega in his care. 

“Yeah…” Johnny said, a hopeful note to his tone. “Could you?” 

A growl threatened and Steve forced it down, swallowing hard. “Can’t promise anything,” he reminded him. “It’s his decision.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Johnny replied just as Bucky yanked Steve’s fly open. 

Steve caught both his hands, which made him whine a little piteously and rub his entire body against him, scent blossoming around them. 

“In a minute, Buck,” he promised.

“No more minutes,” Bucky protested. He dropped abruptly to his knees, which caused Steve to bow over. “Now!” 

Steve inhaled sharply as Bucky pressed his face into his groin and began to nuzzle. Mouth open and breath so hot Steve could feel it through his jeans. He felt his cock throb, a deep pulse that brought the hip deep sweet burn of his knot coming to life. 

“Now Steve!” Bucky reiterated. “You _promised_!”

Steve swallowed thickly, nostrils flaring as every inhale brought Bucky deeper into his blood. 

Bucky’s head tipped back. “You promised you’d take care of me. So, take care of me!” 

He couldn’t explain the feeling that seemed to band through him at that. It was comprised of too many layers, many of which he was completely unfamiliar with. 

“I’ll close the door,” he heard Johnny say - and he sounded a lot less affected than a moment prior. 

Steve yanked Bucky up by his wrists, the Omega releasing a sweet little sound of surprise and delight that had Steve’s insides boiling. His legs went about Steve’s middle, arms winding about his shoulders. In one motion, Steve had him back in his apartment, back pressed solidly against the wall and the seat of his pants stretching against his thighs. 

He couldn’t actively recall how they ended up against the closed door, or whether he’d been any kind of considerate as his mouth closed over Bucky’s at the same time he thrust up completely into him. A high pitched keening seemed to be coming from Bucky’s throat, willing Steve to bite him all along the pretty length of it. 

Steve held him up with one arm, the other reaching out to secure the door against interruption. 

Bucky’s head dropped back against the solid wood, lips parted wide and glistening. His fingers bit into Steve’s shoulders, back arching in pleasure. His feet swung against Steve’s thighs with every sharp upward thrust. 

“Steve!” he gasped out. “Steve! Steve! Steve!”

Steve curled about him as best he could, pressing his face into the crook of Bucky’s neck and shoulder. His pulse felt strained, like the blood was distilling in his veins and he thrust up and up and up until he was choking on the force of his knot lodging deep in Bucky. 

Bucky went tense, entire body freezing as his own orgasm washed through him. It seemed to Steve, in some odd, still clearly functioning part of his mind that Bucky’s orgasm was stretching on longer than usual. But just as soon as the thought surfaced, Bucky was slumping into him, breathing so hard, his entire body shook with it. 

He burrowed in against Steve’s neck, breath so hot it was moist. “Steve,” he mewled. 

Steve could almost _feel_ the wave of heat roll through Bucky. He tucked him close in both arms and cradled him. “I know, Buck,” he murmured, kissing what he could reach of the Omega’s head. “I’ve got you. It’s okay now. I’m here.” 

He crossed the room as carefully as he could manage, and passed into the bedroom. 

Bucky sighed as Steve gently lay him back in the soft bed. Arms clutching him close as he adjusted and pressed in deep, weighing Bucky down and pinning him under a net of safety and security. 

“Why didn’t you contact me?” Steve asked once they’d both relaxed into the position. 

Bucky shrugged. “I’m not your only…” He bit his lip. “I don’t know what your schedule is. I didn’t want to...interrupt.” 

Steve stroked his side, hand sweeping over heat sensitive skin. “If you go early, Bucky, you’re supposed to let me know.” 

Bucky shook his head. “If you were with me and someone else was trying to reach you for the same thing, I’d…” He closed his eyes, shaking his head again and swallowing thickly. 

Steve smoothed a hand through his hair soothingly. 

“This is your job and I get that. I do. I haven’t bought into the fantasy, believe me,” he assured Steve, meeting his eyes. “But when you’re...When you’re with someone during your heat it’s just...even if you just met them and you otherwise wouldn’t particularly like them…”

Steve nuzzled him encouragingly. 

“It’s not fair is all.” 

“I understand,” he murmured. And he did. He’d been in the business of Omega care for most of his life. He knew how sensitive the flood of hormones could make an otherwise nonchalant person. Had been through enough deeply embarrassed apologies and awkward situations. 

An Omega’s heat - like an Alpha’s rut - was a deeply stressful time. Their bodies prioritizing breeding in such a way as to completely overhaul all thought and reason, save the singular goal of procreation. They weren’t animals; forcing any sort of sexual contact while under the effects was not looked upon lightly by any society. In some, the cycles themselves were even considered holy or sacred. And there were entirely different approaches to managing them all over the world. 

It wasn’t always fair or even equal, but most of the world agreed that while a cycle - especially unmated - could be stressful in many ways, the act of participation in whatever means to endure that cycle was still considered to be a wholly conscious and willful decision. Consent was _**vital**_. Most especially, and importantly, across designations. There were still people and places in the world that considered any sexual activity between two members of the same designation invalid. Where any sexual conduct that did not occur between an Alpha and an Omega was considered immoral. And yet, even in such societies, consent - whether willful or influenced with the individual’s best interests in mind - was absolutely mandatory before any sexual contact could take place. It was far from a perfect system, but Steve was at least grateful that much had become standard.

“The next time it happens,” Steve said, running his fingers through Bucky’s thick, soft hair. “Contact Shield. Someone will get in contact with me as soon as I’m available and let me know.” 

Bucky was still beneath him. Steve reached back to sooth his hand down one propped up thigh. Bucky’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. 

“If I’m unavailable for any reason…” He kissed Bucky against his brow. “And it’s an emergency, they’ll send someone else to take care of you until I arrive.” 

The brunet’s nose bunched. 

“What?” Steve asked. 

“I dunno, it’s just...weird, I guess. I mean, I won’t know any of them. And…” He waved a hand between them. “We’re imprinted for the season. So...I dunno, wouldn’t that feel...like I’m cheating on you or something? I know it wouldn’t be, but I don’t know if I can honestly say it wouldn’t make me feel weird inside.” 

Steve hummed. “We won’t know until we’re in that situation.” He closed his hands about Bucky’s face, holding it as surely as his eyes. “That’s a worse case scenario,” he assured him. “I’m not gonna abandon you or anything. I promise.” 

Something in Bucky’s exhale seemed to be more relaxed and he nodded. Adding after a moment, “If that happens, can you at least, I dunno...send a friend of yours or something? It might feel less awkward if we’ve got common ground.” 

Steve kissed him. “I promise. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll make a note of it with one or two of them when I get back to HQ. Prep them for the potential eventuality.” 

“Thanks,” Bucky replied, scrubbing at his hair. He grinned suddenly, cheeky. “Tell them nice things about me?” 

Steve laughed. “We’ll be there all day.” 

Bucky smiled, arms about his neck drawing him in for a kiss. 

 

T’Challa closed Bucky’s file and leaned back in his seat. “I would not at all be inconvenienced in assisting should such an event arise,” he said, sliding the tablet back across the table at Steve. 

Steve released the breath he’d been unaware of holding, accepting the tablet back. “Thanks, T’Challa. That means a lot.” 

T’Challa nodded. “I assume you’ve also spoken to Thor?”

Steve nodded. “But he’s got a lot on his plate right now. So, I thought it’d be best to cultivate options.” 

“I’ve noticed you’re only asking your similarly positioned fellows,” he pointed out. 

“Bucky asked me specifically for my _friends_ ,” he explained. “People I know and trust, who know me. He doesn’t want to feel...overly awkward. I think it’ll make him feel less abandoned.” 

T’Challa hummed. “He is quite beautiful,” he added. 

“Thor thought so too.”

“And Johnny?” 

Steve sighed. “Johnny wants me to talk to Bucky about considering him for substitution. Bring him around so Bucky will get to know him and so he’ll be more comfortable if the situation arises.” 

“He isn’t wrong,” T’Challa replied. “It is a sound strategy. Everyone will be prepared, have intimate knowledge of one another and the situation. Johnny’s schedule is less restricted than any of our own. And you will need someone to oversee Bucky’s care if he remains with Shield.” 

He shifted in his seat. Steve had a personal rule which restricted him from encouraging any Omega unduly. He contracted with them for no more than the accumulation of a single season - generally a year - and then everyone moved on. It was in all of their best interests. There were some Alphas who specialized in long term, unbonded Omega care. For a good number of Omegas, the uncomfortable but unfortunately necessary act of cycling was eased by having a deep relationship with the Alpha providing them with the pheromonal and hormonal exchanges they required to come through the other end. Several of Shield’s clientele were unbonded and uninterested. Shield provided them with the temporary assistance they required every few years or so. 

While designation could not be fully changed, there were options for those who identified as Transdesignated. Shield also had specialists - of both varieties - to cater to their needs. Shield provided services for unbonded pregnant Omegas who needed an Alpha’s presence and support in order to gestate and deliver a healthy baby. One of Steve’s own friends had transitioned into the specialty exclusively three years prior and never looked back. Thor stated it felt more like helping than providing an attentive knotting during heat, and quite enjoyed his new roster of clients and all the work that came with them. He only rarely accepted Heat cases anymore - doing his friends favors aside - and Steve idly wondered how his career would affect his mate and their relationship given their current situation. 

Steve was fully aware it was none of his business, but they were his friends and he wished them the best. He’d also subbed for Thor once or twice before he and Loki were bonded - Loki claimed Steve was the only one who even came _close_ to Thor’s “magnificence” and Steve tried not to look into it more than the compliment it was clearly intended to be. They’d worked together, trained new recruits together and if Steve were truly honest with himself, if he couldn’t be with Bucky for some unfathomable reason, he’d want Thor to be the one to care for and satisfy him in his stead. 

T’Challa was newer to the team, but just as dedicated. He had a knack for the more extreme cases, somehow able to channel his Alpha energy while maintaining the most amazing sense of calm. According to reviews and a few of their inhouse Omegas it was practically a religious experience. T’Challa prefered to work with Omegas who required very specific handling. Like Sam - Steve’s other best friend - T’Challa specialized in helping those in the most need. Where Sam ran groups and drives and outreach programs, T’Challa took a more hands on approach. Of course, their different designations made them ideally suited to their professions. Sam was the most patient Beta Steve had ever known and T’Challa the only other Alpha besides himself who seemed not to much care whether people mistook him for another designation or not. Once Steve had introduced them, it had resulted in a steady stream of clientele and recommendations for each. The pair working together to assist a wider range of those in need. Steve was half convinced they only stayed with Shield - though Sam’s work for the company left him much freer than T’Challa’s - because it had such a far reach. Otherwise, he was certain, they’d have created their own non-profit years ago and thrown themselves into it completely. 

Steve felt T’Challa would get along well with Bucky. The Omega was highly decorated, honorably discharged Special Forces. They’d shared a few stories in the quiet, vulnerable moments between knottings and Steve knew T’Challa would be able to take one look at Bucky and exceed expectations. He had a gift for navigating emotional mindfields, and while Steve had never triggered one himself, he knew from Bucky himself that it was entirely possible for it to become an issue without warning, especially where his left arm was concerned. 

“Or were you perhaps considering amending your terms?” 

Steve’s head bobbed up, brought back into the conversation by the question. “Amending my terms?” 

“You seeded him,” T’Challa pointed out. 

Steve could feel the flush as it swept across his skin. “That was an accident,” he corrected. 

“It is unlike you to have accidents, Steve,” T’Challa replied. He was right of course, but damned if Steve knew how to fix that sort of blunder. It was his first slip up, and Bucky hadn’t filed a complaint, but Steve still felt guilty as hell over it. “Have you considered it might not have been an accident?”

Steve straightened in his seat. “Are you implying-”

“Peace, Steve,” T’Challa said, one hand held up between them. Other than Thor, T’Challa was the only other Alpha in Shield employ that could match Steve in strength and power and a fight between any of them would be a disaster. “It was not my intention to accuse you of anything untoward. I only meant that perhaps you do not entirely consider Mr. Barnes a client.” 

Steve blinked at him, thrown. 

“It would not be the first time.” 

No. No it wouldn’t be. And there were no rules that stated a relationship with a client was not allowed, provided there were no active seductions during heats when consent was malleable. Several employees had found their mates through performing assignments for Shield. It was in some ways, almost inevitable given the volume of clientele and Shield’s own reach. 

“Think on it,” T’Challa finished, standing. 

Steve nodded. 

 

He couldn’t get it out of his head. 

“You okay?” Bucky asked from above him, brow furrowing slightly and the soft curve of one lip caught between his teeth. He’d paused in his movements, and Steve smoothed both hands over the sweet curve of his rear. Bucky shivered, fingers flexing against Steve’s abdomen. 

“Yeah, Buck, sorry. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.” He ran his hands over Bucky’s thighs. “I’m sorry. There’s a time and place.” 

Bucky snorted, raking back some of his dark hair. “Please, Steve. We both know that’s bullshit. Thoughts are gonna come when they come, there’s nothing you can do about it.” After a moment he asked, “Is it the war?” 

Steve smiled and encouraged him to continue by catching him by the hips and rolling his own. Bucky couldn’t quite silence the moan, and after a moment, began to roll his own hips. “No, it isn’t the war.” He smoothed a hand down as much of Bucky’s back as he could reach. “Just something a friend of mine said to me. Can’t get it out of my head.” 

“Wanna share?” Bucky adjusted above him, shifting in a way that brought stars to the backs of Steve’s eyelids. He arched despite himself and Bucky smiled. “We might be busy with business, but I’m otherwise all ears.” He flexed about Steve’s cock and rocked in a way that made Steve’s toes curl. “Where am I going?”

Steve laughed and stroked his side. “Thanks Buck, I’ll keep that in mind. But for now...let’s just concentrate on getting you there.” 

“I could do this all day,” Bucky teased, quoting Steve from months earlier when he’d said the same to a concerned Bucky who’d never had someone give enough of a damn to eat him out properly. 

Steve laughed. “Don’t tempt me.” 

Bucky flashed him a grin, something bright in his eyes. “Think you have the stamina, _Alpha_?”

The word sent pleasurable ripples through Steve’s very core. 

“Care to find out, _Omega_?” 

Bucky shivered, eyes drifting closed for a moment. “Yes, sir.” 

Steve quirked a grin and let Bucky have at it. 

By the next morning Bucky was beneath him again, begging to be taken rough and complaining about his back, but he’d damn well managed all day and well into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's crunch time for my cousin's wedding, so the next update might be delayed.


	3. Bucky

Bucky Barnes had a problem, and it’s name was Steve. 

More specifically Bucky found himself doing the one thing he’d sworn to never do. To Steve, to himself, to everyone who’d ever teased him about it. He had fallen completely, hopelessly and utterly in love with his Alpha Provider. It was cliche and stupid and he was well aware of what a complete _idiot_ he was. Unfortunately, nothing he told himself nor anything he’d tried to date was able to even remotely sway him from the handsome, selfless, kind, funny and devastatingly charming Alpha who’d walked into his life via contract. 

He hadn’t realized it at first, too content with how easily his life was going with such an attentive Alpha. Steve was considerate and understanding, always willing to do whatever Bucky needed - or felt like he needed - without question. He never made Bucky feel like anything he wanted was beneath him, or stupid, or unnecessary. He never made Bucky feel as if his requests were unreasonable. Not that Bucky often requested - Steve was too damn good at just seeming to _know_. He knew how much, how deep, how hard and how long if not by instinct, then by being more adept at reading Bucky and his body than anyone he’d ever known. 

Steve would put his arms around Bucky, and no matter what he did with them, it was always inexplicably _right_. There was no feeling in the world that compared to being in the Alpha’s embrace. He just had a way with the simple act that was entirely inherent and wholly unexplainable. Every time he was near, Bucky couldn’t help but gravitate toward him. Toward an ever open, welcoming embrace; even when Steve’s arms were at his sides, they were only a movement, a gesture away from wrapping themselves around Bucky. His hold both gentle and firm reminding Bucky of the way his father used to hug him when he was small - bracing and secure, but _loving_. So very loving. Except with Steve it was an all together different kind of love. It was a love filled with promise and passion. A love of tomorrows and ever afters and pure, unrepentant _happiness_. So much so that Bucky never could quite resist the urge to rub his face all over him, scenting and being scented, and he honestly didn’t care in those moments and beyond them what it meant. Steve’s steady scent surrounding him, coating his skin in a way Steve would never infuse the rest of him with. 

Steve was everything he’d always wanted. He was kind and honest, he made Bucky laugh with the slightest provocation - full and long until his sides ached or with the hiccupping gasps of a serious case of the giggles or just small and pure when he needed it most. He was earnest and good, practically to a fault. Sincere in a way Bucky had never known anyone else to be. He was _beautiful_ inside and out, with a body that worshipped - gently, yet with such fierce passion - when it ought to be getting worshipped. He wasn’t shy about voicing his opinion and could get incredibly riled up over the smallest things at the drop of a hat because he felt so deeply. Steve was the kind of Alpha who would fall endless and willing and love with such strength it would take all the breath out of a body. 

Bucky understood now - and wished he didn’t - why Steve was so popular. What his fellow Omegas had gone through during their time with him. He could only _imagine_ what his life would be like when their contract ended. And found himself entirely unwilling to consider it for the fierce pain in his chest of looming heartbreak. 

Each month was a reminder as much as it was a gift. The year was dwindling before them and Bucky would not even be able to console himself with the fact that they’d had anything meaningful. Contract terminated, he’d go back on his suppressants and try to move on, knowing full well there was no getting over an Alpha like Steve. 

He didn’t even know his last name. 

The passionate joining of the heat before last spent together played over and over in Bucky’s mind. He’d been so deep into his cycle, he couldn’t be certain, but his instincts had been singing with a surety all Omegas knew but rarely experienced. He’d wanted Steve then more than he had ever wanted anything or anyone in his life. Had reveled in their coming together, in the union of their bodies. And if he hadn’t been so lost to it, so swept up in the moment, he would have surely cried when he felt Steve spill into him for the first - and only - time. Almost did when Steve had cradled him close and carried him so tenderly, laying him back and curling about him, pinning and protecting him within the shelter of his body, their bodies locked together in a primal affair as old as time itself. Had managed to compose himself enough to converse - thank you military training. Had somehow maintained it after Steve had pulled out, leaking semen all over them both and the bed beneath. Bucky will never be able to forget the look on his face when he’d realized...a mixture of horror and surprise and concern. He’d launched into a thousand apologies and had carried Bucky into the bathroom so they could carefully clean him. Bucky had faced the tiled wall as the joy and contentment, the feeling of _belonging_ of so shortly ago drained out of him with every thorough motion. 

Steve had left him in the bath while he went to clean up and retrieve his bag from where he’d dropped it in their haste earlier. Bucky sat in the bath and reminded himself that they were both contractually bound, by their own agreement and prior consent. He knew the rules, so he had no reason to be so upset. Thankfully, by the time Steve had come back to him, Bucky’s cycle was on an upswing. Everything after was par for the course and they parted amicably. 

His Alpha Provider was gone for only an hour, scent still fresh and the bed still warm with his lingering heat, before Bucky began to feel the world closing in around him. He pushed himself up and stumbled out of bed - where he had been basking and certainly not wallowing. Everything after was hazy, slipping through his memory like an old film that had been viewed too many times, the skip pop of audio and the dull recognition of sensation. 

His fist against the door as he pounded. Clint yelling for Natasha. His refusal of...something he can’t actively recall, but knows was an emergency phone call. Natasha asking him questions as she held him close, hands cupping his face, brow against his, the only word permeating Steve’s name. Her scent about him - not nearly as comforting as it used to be, twisting him up into ever more sickeningly tight knots. 

Waking up in their bed, carefully enfolded between both of Clint’s Alphas. Groggy and incoherent as they stroked and kissed and murmured to him. One part so vivid in his memory it chokes him up to recall. Natasha’s voice, gentle but firm, all Alpha and not Alpha enough saying lowly, “Do you want to tell us what happened?” Her breath traveled over his skin, ruffling his hair, both of her arms about him, her hands stroking. The quiet strength of her all down his front, their legs tangled with Phil’s, a solid strength behind him, power thrumming all down his back. He couldn’t tell if they were angry or resigned, but he could feel that whatever their emotions, they were being careful not to direct them at him. Projecting only love, support, acceptance and the full measure of their protection, ready to come to his aid if he needed them. It was too much. 

Too much of what he wanted. Too much of what he lacked. Too much to cope with coming out of one of the most severe attacks in years. He gulped in a breath that broke on a sob and completely fell apart. They drew tighter around him and Phil murmured something to which Bucky could only emphatically, miserably shake his head. 

In the morning, in the clear light of day, Bucky found he could breathe again. It wasn’t perfect, but it was _better_. Clint clasped his face between his hands and leaned in to kiss him sweetly. He dropped their brows together and tangled their fingers. 

“Better?” 

“I don’t think I’m going to survive this,” he admitted in a moment of weakness. 

“We’ve survived worse,” Clint reminded him. 

Bucky closed his eyes and breathed in slowly, releasing it carefully through his mouth. Reaching for - and thankfully finding - his center. 

“Do you want to shower?” Clint asked. “Or do you want to have breakfast smelling as confusing as it probably all feels?” 

Bucky hadn’t ever wanted to wash away Steve’s scent. Wanted nothing more than to carry it with him for the rest of his days. To drown in it until it became his own. None of this he said; it didn’t need to be said. 

He took a shower and when he emerged his own clothes were awaiting him on the bed. Beside them were a hodge podge of items that would fit him, but were not his own. It was a question, pure and simple and Bucky felt warmth suffuse him. 

All of their friends converged on them for breakfast. And while Phil was clearly frazzled by the invasion and Natasha slightly on edge, neither said a word. Keeping busy and relaxing by measures as Bucky took the day to indulge in the comforting affection of the people who loved him. They sat together, tangled in piles. Omegas inevitably becoming the center point as Alphas and Betas milled around, talking and laughing and keeping watch. Pausing only to touch their mates or to wrap Bucky up in some caress or embrace, granting him a day of unwavering support and affection. Generally he wouldn’t have been happy about so obviously being the center of attention, but it had been exactly what he needed to cure his mood and dispel any loneliness awaiting him in the days to come. 

Tony had declared a universal need for a vacation and by Bucky’s next heat, he’d been so buoyed on all fronts that when Steve had left and he’d found several of his friends on his doorstep by the afternoon, all he felt was happiness. He’d laughed and invited them in and completely forgotten something had been clearly bothering Steve and they’d never talked about it. 

 

Bucky woke to a steady pounding on his door and sat up rubbing at his eyes. The scent of Steve lingered in his sheets - he kept the unsoiled things unwashed until Steve’s next visit, which was a secret he would take to his grave - so his first reaction was neither instant alertness nor the instinctual reach for a weapon. He was shuffling out of his bedroom when he smelled the sudden distress and heard the sharp sound of Natasha cursing in Russian. 

He was all too suddenly in the doorway; it opened wide to the sight of Clint being supported by both mates. He looked up from the floor, which caused Bucky to look _down_. “Sorry,” he gasped, knees twitching together against the wetness sliding down his legs. 

“ _Shit_!” Bucky cursed. 

Natasha levered Clint into him, only letting go once both Omegas had their arms about one another. Clint shoved his face into Bucky’s neck and began heaving in breaths as she bypassed them into Bucky’s apartment with a low rumble. 

“Are you alright?” Phil asked, and if not for the hand stroking over the back of Bucky’s head, he wouldn’t have known the Alpha was talking to him. 

“Yeah,” he replied automatically. “Why?” 

“Because...you _slept_ through the alarm,” Clint rasped against his throat.

“No, I didn’t,” Bucky protested in surprise. “It never went off.”

“It had to have,” Clint responded. “I pressed it mysel---”

“Clint?” Phil queried, and for the first time in the many years they’d known one another, Bucky could hear actual fear in his voice. 

Clint curled about Bucky with an abruptly muffled sound of pain. Bucky moved with him, tipping his head and nudging Clint’s hair with his nose as his friend heaved in breaths through his nose directly below Bucky’s ear. 

Natasha came back out with Bucky’s birthing bag and tugged his door closed behind her, keying it closed before wrapping a comforter around both Omegas. Bucky was pleased to note it was the one he kept on the couch for movie cuddling and not the one from his bed, because then he’d have to explain a few things and now was most certainly _not_ the time for _that_ particular conversation. 

“It never went off,” she informed them. 

“See?” Bucky murmured to Clint. 

“Why not?” Phil asked. 

“No time,” she replied. “We’ll ask Tony about it later. We need to get to Bruce.” 

Bucky adjusted his stance so they wouldn’t slide to the floor as Clint tried to curl up even further. 

“ _Now_ ,” she stressed, as if they needed further motivation. 

 

“Oh God, you guys,” Clint rasped, body tensing between Bucky and Tony. “Don’t ever do this!! Why did I want to do this?!” 

Bucky pressed their brows together as Tony rubbed both hands down Clint’s back. It should have been Darcy, but she was pregnant herself and couldn’t be present lest Clint’s labor spark her own - which would mean losing her pup. Or Peter, but when he and Wade had arrived JARVIS had informed them that Peter could not be present as he was also currently pregnant. Bucky probably would have laughed at the entire situation if it weren’t for the absolutely stricken look on Peter’s face. He lowered both hands to his abdomen slowly, as if someone had him under laser scope. Then Wade had laughed and scooped him up and he’d burst into tears. The last Bucky’d seen of them, they were wrapped around one another and Wade was saying with confidence, “I _told_ you hanging out with Bucky would do the trick!!” 

“I’m so happy!!” Darcy had sobbed before being enveloped in her mates. 

“Don’t look at _me_ ,” Tony had said to the room at large. “I am _not_ the family type.” 

Although it wasn’t likely and happened incredibly rarely, JARVIS was required to scan all Omegas in the building regarding possible pregnancy for safety reasons whenever there was a delivery in the Tower. Tony was never shy about being happy to find himself still unencombered, despite the fact that with three mates and a global, multi-billion dollar industry nearly everyone on the planet was awaiting either he or Bruce to produce an heir or two. JARVIS was programed to announce everyone’s status but Bruce’s - save emergency - because it was not at all common knowledge that an incident in college had caused Bruce to suffer a forced - if accidental - sterilization. 

Bucky was so accustomed to hearing about his own status, that the news rolled right off him. Never once drawing his attention away from Clint. As the only “pregnant free” as Tony liked to say, members of their group, Bucky and Tony were forced to work together as Clint’s Omega support. Bruce needed to focus on delivering the baby. 

“Have you _looked_ at your mates recently?” Bucky asked Clint. “This was bound to happen sooner or later.”

Clint huffed a laugh and tried to breathe through the next contraction. 

No one was quite certain _why_ Omegas had evolved the way they had in regards to pregnancy and birth, but there were plenty of theories circulating. One of Bucky’s favorites involved the fact that when they were a nomadic species, the Alphas would have had to go into defense mode during an Omega’s labor. Leaving the Omegas and Pups at the center of the camp all in one defensible location until it was all over. And that over time, what was once environmental necessity became tradition, before becoming hardwired into their genes as a physical requirement. 

The gene itself had yet to be found, but it was universal knowledge - and moreover, instinctual - that when an Omega went into labor, they required the physical presence of other Omegas in order to birth safely. It was said it _could_ be done alone, but it would cost the Omega their life. And while some factions called bullshit, there was enough evidence to support the continued application of the Omega Support System whenever labor occurred. And to keep Omegas and their mates from volunteering to attempt labor otherwise. 

It wasn’t a perfect system and its effectiveness was directly dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, environmental, physical, mental, emotional, relationships and experience. It was - as most things were with them it seemed - both incredibly complicated and blissfully simplistic at the same time. 

 

Katherine Yelena Romanov-Coulson was born at five in the morning and was the most beautiful baby Bucky had ever seen. She had soft brown hair - so she was most likely Phil’s - incredibly long eyelashes, and a small but sturdy frame. She would probably be as short as Clint, as feisty as Natasha, and if they were very lucky, as calm as Phil.

Bucky watched Natasha and Phil cradle her between them, drawing in her scent in deep, emotional inhales and nuzzling her so she would carry their own. The love they shared for their family was evident in how comfortable they were pressed so close to one another, Kate held in their entwined arms. 

“She smells like cake,” Clint said drowsily from beside him. 

“It’s all that sugar you ate,” he teased back. 

“All babies smell sweet,” Bruce assured Clint. “It’s a biological failsafe.” 

“I am way too tired for this explanation,” Clint groaned. 

“You did great, Clint,” Tony said, clapping him on the shoulder. 

“Yeah, so did you,” Clint replied, dropping a hand to Tony’s forearm. “Kudos for not passing out.”

“Eh, we didn’t need him awake. If he’d’ve passed out, I could have just propped him up behind you.”

“Ever the courteous one, Barnes,” Tony remarked. 

Bucky smiled at him. 

 

The Lobby of Stark Tower was bustling with the usual traffic. Everyone had the day off to rest and recuperate before Tony inevitably spoiled their group’s first newborn, dragging them all along in the process. Bucky had been awake for hours and didn’t feel the least bit tired, so he thought he’d pick up some coffee and amble around to try and wind down from the night’s events, maybe tire himself out a little. He was tapping at his phone when he heard a very familiar voice say, “But we have an appointment.” 

Bucky’s head whipped up, eyes falling on a pair of familiar shoulders. Steve stood opposite the front desk, a petite blonde at his side. Her long hair was pulled up into a messy bun and there were sunglasses settled atop her head. Steve absolutely _dwarfed_ her, but she looked perfectly at home at his side. Bucky wondered who she was. 

There was no protocol for this. There was nothing explicitly written into the contract that covered the type of situation Bucky now found himself in - he knew, because he’d memorized the thing the moment he realized he was undeniably screwed. He and Steve had never discussed it. It had always been a non-issue. Which was fucking stupid, because here they were, and Bucky had no idea how to respond. 

He wanted, of course, to go over to him. But he couldn’t tell if the girl was a client or someone else. He’d meant what he’d told Steve. He didn’t want to interfere when he was with someone else. To ruin the experience by dragging them all into the harsh light of reality. It really wasn’t fair. 

“Yes, we have your appointment on file,” the attendant replied. “Unfortunately, Dr. Banner is unavailable at this time. Would you like me to see about rescheduling?” 

“We can’t reschedule,” Steve informed her. “It has to be _today_. We spoke to Dr. Banner about this prior to making the appointment and he assured us it would not be an issue.” 

Bucky pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Bruce. 

“Well, I’m very sorry, sir, but as I’ve told you, Dr. Banner is unavailable today.” 

The girl leaned forward, dropping both hands to the desktop and Bucky could see her clearly enough to realize she wasn’t a petite woman, she was a kid. “Hi, look, I know this is really inconvenient for everyone, but we really can’t reschedule, okay? My Dad’s a really busy guy and this is his only day off in weeks. Can’t you please just call Dr. Banner and tell him we’re here?”

Bucky choked on air. 

“Is this an emergency?” the attendant replied coolly. 

Bucky’s phone alerted, and he was grateful to have something else to look at. 

“Oh, I dunno,” the girl replied, lifting her chin. “We’re only here to see the foremost specialist in a highly selective medical field at seven o’clock on a Saturday morning - when his office is usually closed - after getting up before sunrise to get here, so, you know…” She tipped her head, bracing her jaw to the curve of her hand and it was all _Steve_. “No, I wouldn’t _exactly_ call it an emergency. We were just wondering if he’d like to hang out.” 

“Birdie,” Steve said, but there was no real reprimand behind it. Bucky thought he was just trying to be polite and remain civil. Which probably meant that yes, it was an emergency. Though from Bruce’s text, it didn’t seem to be an urgent one at least. 

“It’s okay, Selene,” Bucky said, stepping over to them. “Bruce’s expecting them.” 

Three sets of eyes turned on him. Steve looked surprised, though he was hiding it well. Bucky noticed his posture shift from professional to relaxed at the sight of him and it made something inside him twist in pleasure. 

“I have a note here,” she pointed out. 

Bucky leaned over the counter and took a look at it. “Yeah, it’s okay.” He pressed his finger to the screen and swiped. Tapping through a few files, he brought up Steve’s. As Bucky’s Alpha Provider, Steve was in the system, and while they were under contract, was listed as his Alpha in all official records. Selene, not having high enough clearance, could only see Steve’s information in that capacity. She looked up at him again, this time taking her time looking him over. Her eyes drifted to Bucky as he leaned back and smiled. “They’re with me.”

Selene cleared her throat and shifted, her stance less formal, but noticeably less polite. “I apologize,” she told Steve. “I was unaware of who you were.” She looked to Bucky slightly betrayed, before her eyes returned to Steve. “It won’t happen again,” she assured him. 

Steve was a quick one, and slid his arm smoothly around Bucky’s shoulders, drawing him close. It was so natural to lean into him and wrap his arm around Steve. The beaming smile he gave her was entirely genuine. 

“Come on,” he said, shifting to tow Steve and his kid along. “Bruce’s had a long night, and he completely forgot you guys were coming today.” 

Steve took the blonde’s hand and the three of them walked down the hall and passed the main elevators. Bucky paused at the private elevator he’d left just ten minutes prior and leaned in for the retinal scan. 

“Sergeant Barnes,” JARVIS greeted.

Steve’s hand slid down Bucky’s side and paused over his ass, gripping it firmly for a moment as the doors opened. Bucky did his best not to laugh as he heard Selene’s tell tale scoff of affront. Steve towed him into the elevator by the same grip on his anatomy and drew him up against him as the doors closed. Bucky did laugh then. 

“JARVIS, can you take us to Bruce please? Pretty sure we’re going to be catching him just before he crashes.”

“Of course, Sergeant Barnes. Captain Rogers, good to see you again.” 

“Hello, JARVIS.” 

“You know JARVIS?” Bucky asked, leaning back against the elevator wall. It forced Steve to let go of him, but the show had been for Selene, not Steve’s kid. 

Steve’s hand settled in his front pocket. “Tony and I go way back.”

“I had no idea,” Bucky mused. 

He honestly hadn’t. It wasn’t like Tony to not want to flaunt something as important as knowing Bucky’s Alpha Provider personally. But the man hadn’t said a word. Had looked Steve’s picture and profile over with the others as if he had no honest idea who he was and teased Bucky incessantly about--Oh. 

“How long has she been trying?” Steve asked, while Bucky tried to recover from the shock. 

He blinked a few times, lost for a moment. “About three years. She’s pushy but harmless. I think she was just really looking forward to this year, ‘cause--” His eyes flitted to the girl standing beside Steve, absorbing every single word they said with an attentiveness that was frankly unnerving. 

Steve looked beside him, then laughed. “It’s okay, Buck,” he said, reaching out to stroke back Bucky’s hair soothingly. “Birdie knows what I do for a living.” 

Bucky stuffed his hands in his pockets and rolled his shoulders. “So, yeah, you kind of ruined it for her.” 

The girl - Birdie - stared at Bucky, her bright blue eyes slowly widening. She pointed at him and turned to Steve exclaiming, “Is this THE Bucky?!” 

Bucky raised an eyebrow as Steve flushed red from the neck up. “ _THE_ Bucky?” he asked. 

Steve cleared his throat. “Bucky, this is my Goddaughter, Birdie.” 

Birdie beamed at him with a sunshine smile eerily similar to Steve’s when he was honestly amused. 

“Birdie this is my...Bucky.” 

Bucky’d been wondering how his introduction was going to be handled. He was absolutely not prepared for the possessive terminology. Even if it’d only come about because Steve clearly hadn’t thought it through either and stumbled over the entire thing. It left him warm and oddly light headed. 

A small body collided with his and squeezed with all the strength it possessed. Bucky was honestly surprised by the strength of her embrace. “I’m so happy to meet you!!” Birdie exclaimed. She leaned back to smile giddily at him. “Dad talks about you ALL the time!” 

“Birdie!” 

“He’s not _really_ my dad,” she informed him, stepping back and patting him low over the abdomen. “So don’t worry. You are _seriously_ pretty, did anybody ever tell you that?”

“Birdie!”

“Thank you?” 

“Mommy’s going to be so excited!!” she squealed, pressing her hands to her cheeks. “Your pups are going to be so perfect!” 

“Brigid Anne Carter! You apologize to Bucky this instant!” 

“But Steve-!”

“I know for a fact you were raised better than this, young lady.”

“Steve, really,” Bucky interrupted. “It’s okay.” 

“No, it isn’t okay,” Steve informed him. “If kids don’t learn properly when they’re young, how can anyone expect anything to change?” He turned back to Birdie, taking her by the shoulders and lowering himself so that she had to lower her head to look at him. “Just because Bucky is an Omega, it does not mean his body isn’t his own. We’re all of us, only here because of Omegas and the sacrifices they make every day. I know it’s confusing, Birdie, I’ve been where you are. But until you designate, sweetheart, you pay everyone the proper respect. Alright?” 

Birdie nodded, sniffing and rubbing at her eyes. Steve hugged her close for a moment, before releasing her and guiding her around to face Bucky by the shoulders. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. 

Bucky smiled at her. “It’s okay, Birdie. I forgive you.” 

She gave him a bit of a smile, looking up at him from beneath her lashes. 

“Is that why you’re here to see Bruce?” he asked her. 

She nodded. 

Bucky held out his arms invitingly, and she stepped into them. “Not for nothing, kiddo, but I kind of thought you were like me.” 

Birdie sniffed and smiled a little more genuinely. “Really?” 

“Yeah.” 

Birdie squeezed him tightly and he patted her back. 

“I don’t know what Bruce is going to tell you,” Bucky told Steve from over her head. “But, gut feeling?” He nodded. 

It took Bucky a moment to realize the look on Steve’s face was entirely new. Something softer, more open than he was used to. Bucky wondered what he was really like, at home, with his family. 

“Is anyone going to actually come through the elevator doors?” came Tony’s voice. “Or are you waiting for the floor to move? Because Pepper specifically forbade me from making those kinds of adjustments to living areas. So you’re out of luck.” 

“Uncle Tony!” Birdie gasped. She turned on her heel and ran out of the elevator. 

“Hey, Birdie!” Tony said, voice slightly muffled, so he’d probably been either smothered or bowled over. 

Steve took a step forward and for a moment Bucky could have _sworn_ Steve was about to kiss him. Instead he smiled as he stepped away and exited. 

“Steve, hey! I didn’t know you were coming today or I would have made sure the elevator was accessible. Wait a minute, how’d you-”

Bucky rolled free of the wall with his good shoulder and used the momentum to slide through the open doorway. 

“Small world,” Tony said, realizing he’d been busted. 

“Imagine,” Bucky replied. 

Tony just grinned at him. “So I guess this means you’re staying.” 

“There are ladies present, so I’ll give you the honor of a verbal response-”

“Boys,” Pepper called from the kitchen. 

“Pepper, darling!” Tony called back. “Please come protect me from the best marksman on the planet. He won’t risk going through you. He adores you too much.” 

“I’m your mate, Tony, not your human shield,” she informed him conversationally as she entered, in the middle of putting on her earrings. “Bucky, have you decided to come to breakfast after all? Oh.” She paused and took them in. Steve and Bucky standing on opposite sides of the couch where Tony sat with Birdie in a collapsed heap atop him. Then she crossed her arms. 

Bucky blamed a combination of lack of suppressants and Steve’s proximity for the quickness with which he was suddenly positioned _behind_ the Alpha. He wasn’t exactly cowering. It had just been a long night and he was exhausted, which left him somewhat more sensitive to instinct than usual. He was proud in fact, to find himself only moved in distance, but otherwise nowhere nearer his Alpha Provider than before - he could have just as easily found himself plastered to Steve’s back for no reason at all. 

Pepper paused, even though Steve didn’t seem to be affronted. “I’m sorry, Bucky,” she said with sincerity. 

“It’s okay,” Bucky replied from behind Steve. “I’m just jumpy.” 

“We’re all just a little tired,” she said to Steve. “It was a long night.” 

That made the muscles in Steve’s back tense and he took a step closer to Bucky, though Bucky was fairly certain he hadn’t done it on purpose. “What happened last night?” He turned and reached out, and helpless to stop himself, Bucky walked into his outstretched arm. “Are you alright?” Bucky could practically hear the unspoken, ‘Why didn’t you call me?’ 

“I’m fine,” he assured him, tilting his face into the touch of Steve’s hand. He felt so relaxed; he could sleep now if he wanted, he realized. “Clint went into labor. Tony and I are the only ones not pregnant so…” 

Steve guided him against him and pressed his lips to Bucky’s temple. He didn’t press, just stood there for a moment, holding him. “Have you slept?” he asked him quietly. 

Bucky shook his head. “Wasn’t tired. I was on my way to get coffee when I bumped into you.” And a good thing he had been too. He could have entirely missed out on spending time with Steve that had absolutely nothing to do with his cycle. 

Pepper clapped her hands together once - she was good at things like that, subtle and unobtrusive, but difficult to ignore all the same. When they both turned to look at her she smiled. “Bruce wanted to see Birdie right away. He’s terribly sorry for the misunderstanding downstairs and he was thoroughly prepared to keep your appointment, however, as you’ve cleared the day to run tests, I made him take a nap. When he wakes up, he’ll eat and shower and we can get started. It’s safer for everyone.” 

Steve nodded in agreement. “I can call Peggy and let her know.” 

“Thank you, Steve. And by the way, it’s so nice to see you again, I’m sorry. I should have lead with that.”

Steve chuckled. “It’s alright Ms. Potts.” 

“Pepper, please.” 

“Pepper,” Steve agreed with a nod. 

“I understand it was an inconvenience for you to travel all the way out here,” Pepper continued. “Will you come to breakfast with us?”

Birdie popped up. “Can we, Steve? Can we please!”

Steve looked sideways at Bucky, though Bucky really didn’t know _why_.

Tony huffed, scooping Birdie up and setting her on her feet with a bounce as he stood. “Birdie will come with us to breakfast. Steve and Bucky can stay in case Bruce wakes up.” Tony slung his arm around Birdie’s shoulders. “We’ll bring theirs back.”

Birdie looked to Steve. 

“If that’s what you want.” 

Birdie gave a whoop and ran over to hug him, catching parts of Bucky in the process. “Thank you, Daddy!” 

Steve pat her on the head. “Have fun, sweetheart.” Then he pointed at Tony. “I will not save you from Peggy if anything happens to her.”

“Peggy,” Tony scoffed. “As if I’d survive _you_!” 

 

It was and wasn’t odd at all to be alone with Steve when he wasn’t in heat. They’d retreated to his floor - because Tony was just that kind of friend - and Bucky was glad for the unfamiliar environment. Even if it felt more like home than a place kept for him by a good friend with Steve inside it. Nearly everyone had a floor in the Tower - as if they needed entire _floors_ \- although only Tony and his mates actually lived there. Not for lack of trying on Tony’s part. However, most of them were of the opinion that their relationships would be healthier with the distance, and the distinct freedom it brought - most especially for the Alphas among them. 

JARVIS was keeping an eye on Bruce and would alert them if he needed anything. In the mean time, Steve had run a warm bath and settled Bucky in it. On his knees beside it with a wash cloth, he gently scrubbed at Bucky’s skin, slick hands rubbing out the kinks in muscles before they could revolt on him. Bucky may have fallen asleep in the tub, because when he woke up, Steve was tucking him in. He grabbed the Alpha’s wrist and gave a tug. “In,” he grumbled sleepily. 

“Sure, Buck,” Steve replied quietly. “Let me just take off my pants.” Steve had a thing about not wearing clothes that had been outside under the covers. His mother had been a nurse and she’d raised Steve all on her own, which meant that sometimes Steve could be odd about certain things and completely okay with others.

Bucky shifted under the covers. “Naked,” he agreed, though he knew full well it wasn’t what Steve had meant. 

Steve gave a soft snort of amusement. “I’m keeping my underwear on.”

“Want to feel you...smell you…” Bucky rambled, rubbing his face against the pillow beside his. That was the problem with not spending enough time at the Tower, nothing really maintained any scent. 

He could feel Steve pause. Heard it in the jingling of his belt as his hands simply dropped both ends. “Buck…”

“Just a little while,” Bucky pleaded. “Please Steve. It doesn’t feel right.” 

Steve sighed and finished removing his pants. He slipped in beside Bucky a moment later, all warm and inviting. He stretched an arm out and Bucky sidled up beside him, burrowing against him as he settled his arm around him and scooped him close. 

“Your heart’s beating fast,” Bucky informed him sleepily. 

“I didn’t think I’d get to do this today,” he admitted, voice low and directed toward Bucky’s skin. 

Bucky hummed and hooked a leg around one of Steve’s. “Yeah…” he sighed. A twisting feeling burst to life in his stomach and Bucky started to lift his head. “It’s not against the rules, is it?” he asked, upset. 

Steve soothed him back down. “Shh, Buck,” he replied, hands gentling. “It’s not against the rules. Unless you don’t want me here.”

He clung to him suddenly. “I want you here,” he protested, head rolling against Steve’s shoulder so he could look up at him. “Steve, I want you here.”

Steve smiled at him. 

“Do you want to be here?”

Steve kissed his brow. “Yeah, Buck. I want to be here.” He guided them back into the downy softness of the bed - Tony could be weird when it came to comfort. 

Bucky melted against him at the reassurance. 

“Go to sleep, Buck. You need it.” 

Bucky’s eyes closed and obeyed. 

 

Bucky clung to the mattress, panting into its softness. Every nerve in his body alive and alight with sensation. Steve had arrived just on time and when he’d opened the door, had greeted Bucky with the sweetest kiss of his life. He’d set his bag down and closed the door and seduced Bucky every step backward into the bedroom. Hours later, he was still at it. Body hovering so close, yet so maddeningly far away. Bucky could feel the power radiating off him, even as Steve did nothing to encourage it. He’d done nothing but kiss and lick and caress since he’d arrived, sending Bucky into a frenzy of desire, only to tease him with the press of his body, cock hard as it nestled against Bucky’s ass or dragged across the dip in his back, or slid across his thigh. 

“ _Steve!_!” Bucky gasped as the Alpha kissed back up his spine almost lazily, trailing between his shoulder blades as if in afterthought. “Steve! Steve _please_!!” 

His legs shifted beneath him, thighs covered in streams of his own slick. He hadn’t quite peaked yet, and they were both well aware of the fact. His pre-heat drawing out on an endless razor edge as Steve nuzzled and gentled and did absolutely nothing else. 

“Oh God!” 

Steve rumbled low in his throat, the sound vibrating in both their chests as Bucky’s body shivered with the press of orgasm that didn’t quite make it. 

“You’re so beautiful,” Steve murmured against his skin, hands sliding down Bucky’s back until nothing but his fingertips made contact, lifting free gently, yet sending shockwaves through Bucky at the pull. 

“Steve,” Bucky sobbed, trying to push himself up on shaking limbs. His head dropped back and Steve leaned in to meet his open mouth. Lips and tongues coming together in a draw of souls that had tears springing to Bucky’s eyes. 

“Shh…” Steve murmured against his lips, his mouth moving to kiss the corner of Bucky’s eye, which fluttered closed at the touch. 

The bed dipped as Steve rolled just enough to reach the bedside table, plucking up a condom, opening and rolling it expertly one handed. He stroked over Bucky’s rear with a too gentle caress and Bucky’s entire body went up in fireworks. “Ready, sweetheart?” the Alpha husked, voice pitched low and thrumming with the nature of his designation. 

In answer, Bucky rocked his legs open weakly. 

Steve drew him onto his side and back by his hip, easing in so slowly Bucky twisted and cried out against him. The Alpha’s other arm slid under him at his neck and shoulder, placing a firm hand over his chest. “I’ve got you, Buck,” Steve husked into his ear. “I’m here, sweetheart.” He kissed the curve of his jaw, trailing up to just below his ear. “Going to take such good care of you.” He nuzzled him sweetly. “ _Always_.” And he began to move. 

His thrusts were slow and long, drawing in and out of Bucky like a lover. Bucky arched back as each deep glide pressed against his prostate, massaging deeply. 

Before long he was reduced to a quivering mass of sensation, incapable of doing much more than squirming in delicious pleasure within the solid hold of his Alpha. Unable to even call his name, head dropped back and mouth wide open and Steve’s teeth grazing his skin. 

Steve sunk in deep just as Bucky’s body released, knot meeting the clench of Bucky’s muscles so perfectly Bucky actually sobbed as he came. Steve nosed him, calming him with gentle kisses as his heat burst through, saturating the room in the scent of it. 

Bucky collapsed back into Steve, heaving in deep gulps of air that escaped him in rushed puffs. Steve smoothed back his hair and nuzzled the back of his neck and along his hairline. Completely unable to do more than sag against him and breathe, Bucky tried to concentrate on keeping his heart from exploding in his chest. 

 

“It’s never felt like that before,” he told Clint, scrubbing a trembling hand against his hair and partially obscuring an eye. 

Clint was silent a moment, pup in his lap as he observed Bucky seriously. “It’s _supposed_ to,” he informed him. 

Bucky looked up at him and Clint sighed, likely in reaction to whatever he saw in Bucky’s eyes. 

“It was intense, right? So intense you thought you were going to die...but you would have been happy to, because nothing’s ever felt so _right_ before.” 

Bucky blinked at him. 

“It felt like he was a part of you. A part of you coming home after being lost forever and you felt complete, and alive, and you were so happy and so sad at the same time that all you could do was cry.” 

Bucky felt tears welling in his eyes and swallowed thickly. 

“Did he snap at you or did he comfort you?” Clint asked, already knowing the answer, but doing Bucky the courtesy of asking. 

“He…” Bucky replied, feeling the shaking light up in his core. “He…”

Clint smiled softly. “Congratulations, Bucky.” 

Bucky looked up and met his eyes and found such understanding, that he crumpled in the next moment, sobbing into his chest. 

“Hey, shh…” Clint replied, easing himself up and crossing over to Bucky to wrap an arm about him and draw him close. “It’s gonna be okay, Bucky.” 

“I can’t _keep_ him!” Bucky sobbed in misery. “I can’t keep him, Clint!!” 

 

Bucky had sensed something was different the moment they’d started. If he were being honest, he’d noticed something the moment Steve had arrived. But he’d missed him so _much_ and they had such little time together left, that he’d ignored it entirely. Far more concerned with getting Steve inside his apartment and himself. Closing the door and locking it against the world and the future and keeping Steve all to himself for as long as he could. 

His heat flared with an intensity that threatened to consume them both, burning up his skin so efficiently, that even Steve felt warm. They came together over and over, but it just would not abate. All care went out the proverbial window as they struggled to get Bucky’s heat under control. After a while, Bucky could only cling to Steve, legs sprawled open in exhaustion as the Alpha rutted deep against him, his massive cock flushed an angry red just beneath the condom as he snapped his hips, quick and sharp into Bucky’s aching hole. Sweat poured down his back, made his hair glisten in the light as the sun set and the moon rose. Eventually, even _his_ strength gave out, and they ended up curled in a mass of limbs as Steve pushed on with whatever reserves he’d maintained. 

They continued on long into the night, trapped on a razor’s edge with no relief as they climbed and climbed. Just as the sky was brightening into a new day they finally broke, crying out into one another’s shoulders as Bucky’s body finally clenched around Steve’s knot. Steve collapsed onto Bucky, but his weight was welcome. His sharp breaths misting over Bucky’s sweat soaked skin as the Alpha above him shivered. Bucky could feel his cock releasing in thick, heavy streams as his knot pulsed against Bucky’s muscles. 

They fell asleep like that, too exhausted to move any more. And when Bucky woke, it was to the slide of Steve’s hard cock still inside him. “Buck, I…” He tripped over anything else he may have been trying to say as Bucky hummed at him, wrapping his arms about Steve and stroking his fingers through his hair. Bucky flexed around him, welcoming him home, and Steve adjusted above him before beginning to thrust again. 

It was the most exhausting three days of Bucky’s life. And he’d been both Special Ops and a POW. 

On the fourth day, they lay beside one another, heaving in breaths, but finally disconnected. Steve eased the condom off with a wince and dropped it into the wastebasket. Steve collapsed beside him again and they stared up at the ceiling trying to make sense of everything that’d happened. 

“I think…” Steve said after a long while. “I think I…” 

“Yeah,” Bucky replied, nodding. “You definitely did.”

Steve licked his lips, eyes darting around in clear distress. He didn’t seem to know what to say, seemed at a complete loss for what was such a common thing. 

“Hey,” Bucky soothed, rolling onto his side and reaching out to stroke back some of his golden hair. “It’s okay. It happens.” 

Steve shook his head, swallowing thickly. “I…” He looked down, a tick stirring in his jaw as he clenched it tightly. 

“Hey…” Bucky shimmied over and pressed up against him, tilting his head so he could look up at him, trying to catch Steve’s gaze without being too forceful. “Steve, it’s alright. Honestly.” 

“It...it wasn’t in the contract,” Steve managed to choke out. 

“Yeah, I know. But, I mean, this can’t be the first time this’s happened.” When Steve didn’t answer, Bucky sucked in a breath. “Is this...I mean...Have you…?” 

Steve pushed himself up. “I should go.” 

“Steve, wait!” 

The Alpha paused, but still didn’t meet his gaze or even look at him. 

Bucky scrambled for something to say, but all his brain kept screaming at him was that Steve had never shared his rut before and had done so with him. “I…”

Steve’s shoulders hunched. “You can file a complaint if you want.”

“I’m not going to file a complaint!” he snapped, exasperated. Steve seemed adamant about the whole thing being some massive breach of policy, but Bucky knew their contract inside and out, and there was absolutely no way...He swallowed, throat tight as he realized. It wasn’t a breach of contract that had Steve so upset. It was a breach of privacy. Steve didn’t share his ruts on purpose. Because he was saving them for his _mate_. Bucky crumpled back into the bed, feeling like shit. 

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, eyes downcast so Steve wouldn’t see the tears threatening in them. 

Steve hurriedly scooped up his clothes and shouldered his bag. “Yeah…” he replied, tugging on his pants and shoving his feet in his sneakers. “Me too.” 

And then he was gone. Bustling out the door and closing it behind him a lot more sharply than Bucky was expecting. He jolted in bed, listening to the locks engage. Once he knew it was safe, Bucky dropped back into the bed and rolled onto his side, burying his face in Steve’s pillow and sobbing his heart out. 

 

He didn’t feel well the next day and called out from work, citing a bad heat and explaining he’d need a few days to recover. It didn’t happen often, but it happened enough that Omegas were given specific days for it. Bucky had never used his before, and so had a veritable well from which to draw. Of course, once the official paperwork had been drawn up, all of his friends began to contact him, concerned. He told them half of the truth, that for some reason this heat had been a real struggle and that it probably had something to do with sharing his cycle with the same Alpha for the year. He very politely told them that he’d need some alone time to recover, and that it wasn’t anything personal. 

_Did you tell him?_ Clint texted. 

Bucky looked down at the phone, throat tightening and vision going hazy and turned his phone off, tossing it off the side of the bed. Rolling over, he burrowed under the covers and went to sleep. 

A pounding on his door woke him up. He pushed up groggily, feeling sick to his stomach, and the moment he was upright, the world tipped around him dangerously. 

“Bucky!!” Clint shouted from the other side of the door. “Bucky, open the door!!” 

He slumped in his seated position, feeling like he didn’t have the energy to do anything more than fall back into bed. 

“Bucky!!” Clint yelled again, pounding hard on the door. “No! Wait. Give him a minute! BUCKY!!” 

The pounding on the door continued more loudly and Bucky pulled a pillow from the bed to shove it around his head. 

“Natasha! No!” 

The locks disengaged and the door opened so forcibly the hinges whined. 

“You can’t just-” Clint’s voice trailed off abruptly. 

“Bucky,” Natasha called, voice sharp and commanding. _Alpha_. 

Bucky whined and collapsed back into the bed, curling up in a ball. 

“Bucky!” 

The bed dipped and hands began to dig through the sheets and pillows. Bucky whined again, trying to escape further into them, but there was nowhere to go, and he felt really weak for some reason. 

“Bucky…”

Clint rolled him over and slapped him gently against the side of his face. 

“Bucky. Bucky open your eyes.” 

Bucky’s eyes fluttered open at the command, but he didn’t take in much more than the sight of Clint on his knees on the bed beside him, and Natasha towering over the both of them. She leaned in and pressed her hand to his head. 

“Bruce, we have a problem,” she said into her phone. “He definitely has a fever. I don’t think he’s fully conscious. Bucky. Bucky look at me.” 

Bucky’s eyes fluttered closed and his head felt heavy as it rolled to the side. 

“He’s unresponsive,” Natasha said, and Bucky could feel her arms wedging under him as she moved to pick him up. 

“We’ll be right over,” Clint finished for her. “No...I’ve never seen him this bad. Even after Azzano.” 

 

Bucky woke in a bed and saw tubes and immediately panicked. He scrambled back and began yanking them out, machines shrilling as they lost vital signs. The door opened and Bucky fell off the bed in his rush to back away. 

“Bucky! Bucky, it’s okay!” Clint shouted, hurrying to his side and dropping to the floor. He wrapped his arms around him and drew him close, Bucky’s hands fisting in Clint’s shirt spasmodically. 

“You’re safe...You’re home. Your name’s James Buchanan Barnes and you are in Stark Tower with your _friends_. Phil…”

Phil settled down beside them and wrapped the both of them up in his arms. Bucky stopped shaking the moment the Alpha had him enveloped in his embrace. Between Clint and Phil, they managed to turn Bucky around so his nose was pressed to the Alpha’s throat. Bucky took slow, deep breaths, coaxed by hands smoothing over him. 

Phil didn’t speak, just held Bucky close, Clint pressed up against Bucky’s back and let him breathe him in steadily. If Bucky were any other Omega, it wouldn’t have worked. But Omega Special Ops had Alpha handlers in the field and were trained on the chain of commands scents in preparation for the potential of extreme cases. In general, it was just another part of daily life, but it had once saved not only Bucky’s life, but Clint’s and the rest of their unit. 

He fell back into the mindset, lured by Phil’s scent. Calming quicker than he had any right to in the arms of an Alpha he wasn’t bonded to. 

When he was sufficiently calm, Bruce settled down in front of them on the floor. 

“You gave us quite a scare,” he told him. 

Bucky’s brows furrowed. 

“After the first three days, we all thought you’d had more than enough time, so we started trying to get a hold of you,” Clint explained. “When you didn’t respond by the second day, Nat and I came over.” 

Bucky shook his head, and Phil wrapped his arms around him more tightly at Bucky’s distress, drawing his face back against his throat. Bucky took deep gulps of air and felt dizzy. 

“Through your nose,” Phil said calmly. 

Bucky inhaled deeply through his nose and felt the world even out.

“Again.”

Bucky followed instruction until he wasn’t so panicked. Phil’s hand smoothed continually through his hair, squeezing gently at the nape of his neck every so often. 

“Bucky…” Bruce said, and there was something about the way he said Bucky’s name that brought his eyes back to him. “I know this is scary, but I need you to listen to me, alright?” 

Bucky’s eyes darted around the room, finding only Natasha, her back against the door, guarding them. She smiled gently at him and Bucky pressed against Phil and took another deep breath, eyes closed. Phil rumbled softly at him and Bucky relaxed further. It was a lot to process, but in the moment itself, he was safe. Natasha and Phil would keep him safe no matter who tried to come through the door. Even if they were friends. 

He swallowed, and adjusted his head so he could look Bruce in the eyes again without losing contact with Phil. “I’m listening.” Clint rubbed both hands up and down his back and nuzzled the back of his head supportively. 

“It’s extremely rare,” Bruce explained. “But depressive states post particularly draining heats can and do happen. Did something distressing happen during your heat?” 

Bucky shook his head. 

“Are you certain?” 

Bucky nodded. 

“Well, everything seems fine right now. We’re still waiting on some results, but I know how you feel about hospitals.” 

Bucky had noticed during his attempt to escape that the room was the furthest thing from a hospital as it could get and still remain a sterile environment. They had a few rooms specifically designed for people like himself and Clint who could not do hospitals and would rather die than be dragged into one. Luckily for them, they had friends in convenient places with compatible skill sets. 

“We’re going to let you leave, but you can’t go home. We’ve had to scent scrub to avoid triggering a second bout.” 

Bucky felt his stomach sink. 

“And you need to be under observation for a few days. Just to be sure everything’s cleared up. You can stay on your floor and have JARVIS keep an eye on you, or you can go home with Natasha and Phil.” 

Bucky knew even if he stayed, what he needed was an Alpha to stabilize him. He’d needed one for a long time when he’d gotten home and had been lucky enough to have good friends willing to provide the care. If he stayed, Rhodey and Pepper would be checking in with him constantly. They were close, but not in the comfortable way of interdesignation friendships that he shared with Clint’s mates. Technically, his contract covered illness, and they should be calling Steve. The fact that they hadn’t meant they’d at the very least clued in on the situation and wouldn’t be taking the chance. 

Bucky pressed closer to Phil who hummed at him and wrapped both arms about him tightly. Natasha closed the distance between them and kneeled across from them, leaning in to press her brow to the back of his head. Bucky felt a hitch in his gut and swallowed, burrowing closer. 

“Nat and Phil?” Bruce asked, because they needed clarification. 

Bucky nodded. 

“Does he need anything?” Natasha asked, voice quiet and gentle. Under other circumstances, Bucky may have taken offense, but he had been here before and he understood it was in deference to the fact that his emotional and mental state were fragile at the moment, even if he didn’t like it. 

“We’ll check his vitals before you leave, but honestly, I think he’ll be okay with what we managed to get into him so far.”

Natasha and Phil shifted, unhappy with the answer and the door opened. Rhodey walked into the room and crossed his arms, leaning back into the doorframe casually. 

“If he does go into distress, you know what to do.”

“We know what to do,” Clint agreed. 

“Then we’re taking Bucky home now,” Phil said, voice calm and civil, but deeper than before. 

Bucky was quiet and still while his vitals were taken and confirmation given. Then Phil wrapped him up in his jacket and Natasha set a hat over his head and neither even gave him the opportunity to try and get up or walk on his own. Natasha drew Clint close, an arm about him and took point, while Phil scooped Bucky up, drawing his head to his neck and cradling him, carried him down through the private elevator and into the car. Natasha sat in the back, with Clint on one side and Bucky bundled up close, tucked under her arm. Phil put on his sunglasses and drove them home. 

 

Bucky sighed and looked at Clint sufferingly. Clint just smiled, Kate in his arms and Lucky under his feet. It had been a week, and Natasha and Phil were smothering him in turns. “I feel a lot better,” he said loudly, a mug of tea in his hands. “I haven’t had a relapse or anything. I’m pretty sure I can go home now.” 

Clint chuckled and shook his head. “Not on your life, Bucky.”

From the kitchen, over the sound of sizzling as Phil made them lunch, the Alpha completely ignored him, asking instead, “Do you guys want dijon on this? Because we’re out and I’ll have to let Natasha know to pick it up on her way home.” 

“I can do without it,” Clint replied. 

“Bucky?” 

“I said I’m fine, Phil, thanks for asking!” 

“Dijon? Yes or no?” 

“I am going to get Stockholm Syndrome!” 

“Good,” his best friend replied. “You can have the next one.” 

Bucky groaned and dropped his head back against the couch. 

 

“It’s good to be back,” Bucky sighed, stretching his legs. 

Darcy giggled. “Phil and Natasha aren’t that bad.” 

“They absolutely are!” Bucky protested. “Don’t let them fool you! I don’t know how Clint puts up with them.” 

“Well, he _is_ sleeping with them.” 

“Yeah, and so was I. It was like they couldn’t trust me not to choke on my own drool while I slept.”

She smiled, dropping a hand to her belly and rubbing absently. “They love you.” 

Bucky blew out a breath. “I know. It’s just…”

“I understand.” 

Bucky nodded. He’d been both blessed and cursed in the friends he’d made and how adeptly they’d affected the entire course of his natural life. They had been through a lot together in small groups and as a whole and he wouldn’t trade them for anything, even his own happiness. 

Darcy drifted over, shifting her hips so her belly swayed. Bucky laughed and set his hands over it, rubbing slightly. “Hey you,” he said. “You giving Mommy a hard time?” 

“He only listens to Thor, I swear,” she sighed, making herself comfortable against his desk. 

“Listen you,” he said poking her belly gently. “Even if you do grow up to be an Omega, it doesn’t mean you just have to bowl over every time an Alpha says boo.” 

Darcy laughed. 

“I’m kind of hoping he isn’t,” she replied after a moment, rubbing her hand against the side of her belly. “I’d rather have an Alpha eldest to ride herd on all the others.” 

Bucky nodded. “Worked out for my parents though.” 

“Well, we’re still not sure about you.” 

“Tell that to my heat cycle,” he responded with a soft snort. 

“Well, whatever he is, he’s massive. All Thor.” 

Bucky grinned at her. “My sympathies.” 

“I am so not looking forward to pushing him out.” 

“I absolutely don’t blame you. Clint was a mess and Kate was pretty average.” 

Darcy blew out a breath, stray hair flying in the wake of it. “You know-”

Claxons sounded, emergency lights going off. Bucky was up and out of his chair, running toward the disturbance between one breath and the next. The flood gates had closed around the main lab and Bucky punched in his code. The lights beeped, shifting from red to green, but when Bucky went to shove the door open, they turned red again. Growling, Bucky did it again, trying to push harder and open the door faster before the glitch happened again. 

“JARVIS what the hell?!” he shouted as he tried for a third time. 

“I am sorry Sergeant Barnes, but you are not authorized to access Lab A at this time.” 

“I have top level clearance!” he shouted at the ceiling. “And an override code!” Reminded, he punched it in. The lights beeped again and the door even unsealed, before quickly locking down again. 

“It is unsafe, Sergeant Barnes. I cannot let you in.” 

“Unsafe?!” Bucky huffed, throwing his arms out. “Unsafe is my entire job description! JARVIS, quit fucking around!” 

“My apologies, sir. I am restricted from allowing you access under Omega Safety Protocols.” 

“I signed a waiver for that!” 

“Which is invalidated under Subsection Four, Clause A.” 

“I don’t give two--What?!” 

“What’s all the shouting about?” Tony asked, swaggering out of the lab, hair singed. “Bucky Bear, I am shocked and appalled! I thought you loved me! And here you are standing out here while I-”

“Sir,” JARVIS interrupted. “Please maintain a distance of fifty feet.” 

“From Bucky Bear?” he scoffed, “Why?” 

“There may still be radioactive traces on your person and it is ill advised to transfer them to Sergeant Barnes as it may cause severe complications to both himself and his fetus.” 

Bucky and Tony stared at each other. 

“His _what_?!” Tony shouted. 

 

“Well,” said Bruce, looking down at his Stark tablet. “All the tests are conclusive.” He put the tablet down and took his glasses off, squeezing at the bridge of his nose before putting them back on and looking Bucky in the eye again. “You’re definitely pregnant.”

“What the hell, Bucky?!” Tony cried. “I thought we had a pact!!” 

Bucky’s hands went over his abdomen, back curving protectively. “But…” His brow furrowed. “Bruce… _how_?!”

“When an Alpha loves an Omega very much-”

“ _Tony_ ,” Bruce sighed. 

“I’ve only had sex with one Alpha.”

“I know.”

“We use _condoms_!” 

“Which are generally ninety-nine percent effective,” Bruce agreed. “Especially the heat based variety.” 

“Steve’s really attentive to that though,” Bucky was quick to inform him. “Like, almost obsessive. It’s his job and-”

“Your previous heat was a difficult one, do you recall?”

Bucky scoffed. “Yeah, I was _there_ , thanks.” 

Bruce turned to stare at his mate. 

“What?!” Tony replied. “I didn’t say anything!” 

“This is a confidential conversation.”

“We’re all friends here.”

“Tony.”

“Okay, _fine_!” the other Omega replied, pushing himself up. 

“Not _one_ word,” Bruce reminded him. 

Tony held up both hands and nodded. “Anything you say, dear.” 

Bruce waited until Tony had left before turning back to Bucky. “I need to ask you something that will remain in confidence, regardless of any situations which might arise.”

Bucky swallowed, arms closing about his middle defensively. 

“Did Steve go into rut?” 

Bucky avoided his eyes. 

“Bucky? Did Steve go into rut during your heat?” 

“I don’t know what the big deal is…” Bucky hedged. “I mean, it’s a thing that happens.”

“That’s true,” Bruce agreed, with another nod. He removed his glasses and began to clean them. “And when it’s coincidental, it generally isn’t much of a consequence.” 

Bucky scoffed. “You trying to say Steve did this on _purpose_?!” he replied. “Cause lemme tell you something right now, pal, there is no way on God’s green Earth Steve would ever get anyone but his mate pregnant on purpose.” 

Bruce slipped his glasses back on and just looked at him. 

“So, you know, this is kind of the worst thing that could happen to him. A nightmare even!” Dread began to pool in his stomach as he thought about what it meant. He was carrying a child. He was carrying Steve’s child. A child he didn’t want. A child not covered by contract, which meant...Bucky felt _sick_. 

“I don’t agree,” Bruce was saying. “But if that’s the case, then I have to ask…” His eyes went soft and he took both of Bucky’s hands in his. “Do you want to terminate?” 

Bucky rocked back as if Bruce had slapped him. And it did in fact, feel that way. He yanked his hands free, climbing back further on the table and wrapping his arms around himself. “You’ll have to carve this baby out of my cold, dead corpse,” he growled. 

Bruce held up his arms. “I had to ask, Bucky. I know how much this baby means to you, but I have to ask in these situations. I’m sorry.” 

Bucky swallowed, still not fully trusting Bruce after the question. “So...what happens now?” 

“We change your clearance for starters,” Bruce replied. “Adjust your duties. You’re going to need an Alpha, Bucky. Your baby isn’t going to grow properly without one.” 

Bucky nodded. 

“Right now, Steve is listed as your Alpha. We can contact him-”

“NO!” he replied, head whipping up so quickly he gave himself a pinch. He reached up to rub at it. “Steve _can’t_ know. He’ll...he _can’t_!!” 

Bruce sighed. “You have options, Bucky. But, you’re going to have to terminate your contract with him if you don’t want him to provide those services for you.” 

Bucky shook his head, looking down at his middle. “He doesn’t provide those services, Bruce.”

“He will if you told him,” Bruce argued. 

Bucky shook his head. 

“You’re going to need an Alpha,” Bruce reiterated. “And you’re going to need one immediately. You’re in the very early stages, it’s _critical_ that you find one as soon as possible.” 

“If it’s Steve’s,” he began, feeling a rush up his spine that threatened to make him lightheaded. Steve’s. He was carrying Steve’s baby! “Then why...I mean...How are we…?”

“Natasha and Phil. You may have been joking about the Stockholm Syndrome, but in your most vulnerable stage, you had a pair of Alphas taking round the clock care of you. Any damage that could have been done was effectively avoided by their presence.” 

Bucky swallowed. “But...but the days before…” 

Bruce smiled. “Your embryo was busy implanting itself. It didn’t start to need an Alpha’s support until well after it had divided. There’s a certain safety net for implantation and early cell divide, since we are not always bonded to the Alphas for whom we bear.” 

He nodded. He supposed it made sense. 

“So...so my baby’s okay?” 

“So far, everything looks all right. We won’t know until later for certain things, but I don’t foresee a problem, provided you either find an Alpha to care for you, or speak to Alphas you know about assisting you.”

“How often do I need an Alpha around?” 

“Daily. Ideally, all the time. But the both of you will only need one around a few hours every day in order to meet the minimum requirements for health and safety.”

“So, what you’re saying is, if I want a really healthy baby, I’m going to need to find an Alpha to live with.” 

“That would be the best solution, yes. But it isn’t mandatory.” 

Bucky shook his head. His baby needed him to find them an Alpha to take care of them. So he would do that, no matter what it cost. 

 

Clint smiled at Bucky and ushered him in. “Thought you were going to avoid us for a while,” he commented, closing the door. “What brings you back after escaping the belly of the beast?” 

“I need help.” 

“Okay,” Clint responded, and Bucky could feel familiar warmth spread through him at the strength of Clint’s resolve. He and Clint would and had done pretty much anything for one another. They had a bond the likes of which Bucky had never been able to forge with another person, and wondered in his darkest days if it had anything to do with living through hell together. 

Bucky sighed and dropped into the couch. “I need you to terminate my contract with Steve for me. I can’t do it.” 

Clint gaped at him. “I’m missing something,” he replied. “Say again? Start from the _beginning_. Why the hell do you want to terminate your contract with Steve?!” 

“I can’t keep him, Clint. And I won’t risk…” He closed his mouth, hands fidgeting in his lap. “We have a very specific contract. And I’m in breach of it.”

“Falling in love with him is hardly breach of contract.” 

“No, but carrying his baby is.” 

Clint blinked at him. 

“I’m pregnant, Clint. It’s...it’s Steve’s.” 

Clint rocked back. “This...this makes so much more sense now.” 

Bucky looked up at him. “What?”

“Phil and Natasha. I mean, I don’t think they realized either...How far along are you?” 

“About three weeks. Just found out yesterday.”

Clint hummed and folded his arms. “Too early to know. But, they’re both really sensitive to that stuff.” 

“Clint, what are you talking about?” 

Clint sighed. “We had a sit down about you,” he informed him. “They didn’t want you to go home. They were getting a little paranoid about it, really. And I told them you were a big boy and could handle yourself. But, they really didn’t want you to leave. They’ve been driving me nuts asking about you, because I forbade them from contacting you for a week.” 

Bucky smirked. “My deliverer.” 

“Yeah, well, there’s love and there’s overbearing.” He shrugged. “But, I guess they recognized it subconsciously, since they knew what it was from experience.” He drummed his fingers on his thigh. “You know you need an Alpha, right? For you _and_ the baby.” 

Bucky nodded. 

“So why aren’t you telling Steve? He has a right to know.”

“Breach of contract, remember?”

“Bullshit. You’re scared.”

“Of course I’m scared, Clint!” he yelled. “I don’t want him to force me to get rid of it!!” 

“He can’t do that,” Clint replied. “You have rights.”

“No I _don’t_. We have a contract and I’m in breach of it. It’s not the same as getting knocked up by some knothead you met in a bar. This is legal and binding and his sperm is his property because he doesn’t provide breeding services.” Bucky took a deep breath, choking on it as it rattled. “And I can’t lose this baby, Clint. I _can’t_.”

Clint got up and sat next to him. “No one’s going to take the baby from you, Bucky,” he swore. “We won’t _let_ them.”

Bucky leaned into his best friend and closed his eyes. He’d never been more afraid in his life. Nor more certain. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to try and talk to him about it?” Clint asked softly. 

“I can’t take the risk,” Bucky replied. 

“And you’re absolutely _positive_ you want to do this?”

“No. That’s why I need you to do it for me.” He shook his head, feeling tears threaten and the all too familiar tightness in his throat. He hadn’t been so emotional in his life. And then Steve had walked into it and turned him inside out. “I...I can’t, Clint. I can’t do that to him.”

“You’ll still be doing it to him,” Clint pointed out. “He won’t know I did it and you didn’t.” 

“But _I’ll_ know. I can’t hurt him. I need to know that I can tell our pup that when they’re older. When they...when they want to know.”

Clint sighed. “Have you asked Tony to have someone look over the contract?”

“There’s no time. Steve will be showing up in a few days. I won’t be in heat. And I won’t go into heat. And he’ll know.” 

“You could just stay here,” Clint suggested. “Steve doesn’t know where we live.” 

“I won’t go into _heat_ , Clint. And he’ll want to know why.” 

“I’m pretty sure your contract says you can postpone or reschedule without advanced warning and the month just gets added on-”

Bucky pushed himself up from the couch angrily. “And what am I supposed to do, Clint?! Just keep putting him off until the baby’s here?! I won’t suddenly be going into heat then either!” 

“I’ll do it. But I won’t do it until you tell Phil and Natasha what’s going on.” 

“Is there a reason you’re sticking me with ultimatums now? I thought you were going to _help_ me!” 

“I _am_ going to help you.” He stood, catching Bucky by the shoulders. “Bucky, I _do_ want to help you. But, you’re going to need an Alpha to take _care_ of you. And I think we should all talk it over first, before doing anything drastic. OVID won’t pay for another Alpha without knowing why you terminated the other one. And they certainly won’t pay for one to provide gestation services so soon after terminating with a heat specialist.” 

Bucky’s knees buckled, and Clint helped him down onto the couch. “What am I gonna do, Clint?!” he asked, turning wide eyes on his best friend. 

“You’re going to stay for dinner and we’re going to tell Phil and Natasha. We’re all going to talk about it and make a decision from there. As a _family_.”


	4. Steve

Steve Rogers was a mess. 

There had not been a single day in his entire life when he had ever felt so sure the world would end, and he had served several tours during wartime. The truth was, he was generally a calm and collected individual. Yes, at one time he had been easy to bait, but the army had cured him of the habit and as soon as he had begun working as an Alpha Provider, everything about his life became strictly scheduled and regimented. 

He had never had a single screw up in all the years he had been an Alpha Provider. And then Bucky Barnes had entered his life and Steve just couldn’t seem to _stop_.

He’d managed to get home and clean up, abandoning all his things between the door and the master bath. A line of disarray that trailed behind him for all the world to see. His skin still felt hot, so he turned the spray on cold and stood under it until his skin began to tint and his hands shook. After, he pulled on some clothes without drying off and went over to Peggy’s. Scaring the hell out of Angie as she flicked on the kitchen light. Her scream brought her mate charging down the stairs, only to crash into her. 

“Steve?” Peggy asked. 

“Steve?” Angie echoed, pushing past Peggy and hurrying over to him. “Oh _honey_ ,” she said, clasping his face between her hands and lifting his head. “Oh, honey, what _happened_?!” 

Peggy closed in on them, face falling open in shock when she saw the tears on his own. “Steve? Steve are you alright?” 

“Mommy? Mum?” called Birdie from upstairs. 

Angie drew Steve to her, and while he was sitting on a stool and she was smaller than him in general, he folded into her and they somehow fit despite it all, pressed together like forced puzzle pieces. 

“Everything’s alright, darling,” Peggy said, going back out into the hall to presumably smile up reassuringly at her daughter. “Mommy just saw another bug.” 

“It was _this_ big!” Angie shouted at her. “I swear!” 

“Go back to bed,” Peggy told their daughter. “Everything’s alright.” 

“I’m so sorry, baby!” Angie gushed, rocking Steve slightly. “You know how I feel about those things!”

Birdie laughed. 

“I’ll come get it for you Mommy,” Grant said, and Steve could hear him take a few steps down even as he pressed his face into Angie’s hair, trying to breathe in the familiar, comforting scents of home and family that clung to her everywhere she went. 

“Now, now,” Peggy replied, going back up the stairs. “I can take care of Mommy. Come on, back to bed. You have school tomorrow.” 

Steve listened to Peggy’s family shuffle around upstairs, while her mate did her best to silently console him in the kitchen. Smoothing her hands over his hair and down his back, holding him as tightly as she was able and dropping sweet kisses across his hairline. After a while, she began to hum softly, never once pausing in her swaying. When Peggy returned, Angie pulled away gently and pressed her brow to his. “You want some tea?” she asked softly. 

Steve sniffed and nodded. 

She clasped his head between her hands again and kissed him firmly on the brow before smiling at him and stepping away. 

Peggy sat down beside him slowly as he rubbed at his face. “Steve…” she said, clearly at a loss. Steve had always been the strong one. Oh, Peggy had had her fair share of wadding into his affairs from time to time, but Steve had been there to support her through her darkest days and he had never once faltered. She’d seen him cry when Colleen died, when Birdie was born and when Peggy and Angie mated. But he had never come apart at the seams. And as Peggy liked to say, she was never much of a seamstress. 

Her hand settled over his and he inhaled deeply. “I fucked up, Peg. I fucked up real bad.” 

Her fingers smoothed over his skin as she did her best to rub the tension out of his clenched fists. She turned to look over her shoulder at the calendar on the wall. Steve could feel Angie looking too, her sharp inhale confirming it a moment later. 

“Did something happen with Bucky?” Peggy asked. 

Steve nodded. 

“Something you didn’t mean to happen,” she said. 

Steve nodded again, trying his best to curl up in his seat. 

There was silence as Peggy and Angie likely locked gazes. And then Angie was laying her own hands over his. “What happened, Steve?” she asked softly. “Did you forget the condom again?” 

He choked on a snort then shook his head. “No, I was really careful this time.” 

“Did you get swept up again?” Peggy asked. 

Steve inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and letting himself get lost in the memory of the previous heat. Of taking Bucky in his arms and making love to him in the only way he could. He hadn’t been able to help himself. And Bucky had been so sweet…

He swallowed and mumbled a reply. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” Peggy replied. 

Angie leaned forward, balancing herself on the countertop. If he weren’t so miserable, it would have made him smile, like it always did. Her hands to the marble, and feet dangling a few inches from the ground. 

“I went into rut,” he said again. “With...with Bucky.” 

When neither responded, Steve chanced looking up and found them having a fierce conversation with their eyes. 

“Are...are you certain?” Peggy asked him, looking to him slightly wide eyed. “You haven’t had one in over half your life.” 

“Bucky confirmed it for me.” 

Angie pressed her hands to her mouth. 

“Steve…” Peggy faltered, unsure. “These things, _do_ happen from time to time. It isn’t your fault.” 

“Bullshit!” Angie replied. 

“Angie,” Peggy warned. 

“No, Peg. No! I am not keeping this from him anymore. He’s a grown man, not a child! Did you stop to think if we’d’ve told him he might not be sitting here, heartbroken in our kitchen?!” 

Peggy sighed. 

Angie leaned forward again and took his hands in her own. “Steve, honey...You’re in love with him.”

Her grip on his hands tightened as he tried to draw away and she looked him right in the eyes. 

“Everyone can see it,” she continued. “It’s like...like he pressed the ‘on’ button on your life. I’ve never seen you so genuinely happy and so damn miserable all at the same time in all the years I’ve known you! Honey, Bucky’s it for you. He’s the person you’ve been waiting your whole life for. Right there in front of you, and you’re so busy trying to be this polished, perfect gentleman, that every time you slip up and listen to your heart, let your instincts take over for the smallest of instants, you end up flogging yourself for weeks afterward. Was he upset?” 

When he didn’t answer, she tapped her fingers against his wrists. “Steven Grant Rogers, was your Omega upset with you for going into rut on him?” 

“He’s not my-”

“Oh do not even start with me right now!” she snapped. “Answer the damn question, Captain America.” 

Steve’s nose wrinkled. He’d never liked the nickname. Angie only dragged it out for moments when he was being particularly unreasonable. 

“ _Well_?” 

“No,” he told the countertop. “No, he wasn’t upset. He...he kept trying to tell me it was okay, but-”

“Oh Steve,” Peggy sighed. 

“What was I supposed to do, Peggy?! We never _agreed_ to that! It never should have been an _issue_!!”

“Did you explain that to him? Did you talk to him about why it was important?”

“Or did you just apologize and run?” Angie finished. 

Steve looked away. 

“Oh my God!” Angie cried, slapping his fists with her hands. “Steve!” 

“Angie…”

“I am calling Sam!” she declared, reaching for the phone and punching in numbers while mumbling darkly. “I fucking swear…” was all he heard as she brought the phone up to her ear. 

Peggy sighed. “You should have talked to him,” she said gently. 

Steve shook his head. “I...I panicked, Peg. I just...it’s never _happened_ to me before.”

“I know,” she replied, resting a hand to his back. “But you should have told _him_ that. He deserved to know.” 

“I...I sort of told him I’d never shared a rut with anyone before.”

Peggy raised an eyebrow, because that was definitely her brow raised voice when she said casually, “And how’d he take it?” 

“Yes, hello, Sam?” Angie said into the phone on the other side of the island. “We need you here for damage control. Yes, it’s an emergency. Steve. No, I’m _not_ joking. It’s Steve. Get your ass over here now!” 

“He said he wasn’t going to file a complaint.”

Peggy made a disbelieving sound, though at what Steve couldn’t be sure. “You told him he could, didn’t you? You told him to file a _complaint_.”

“Give me your phone!” Angie said hand out in front of his face and fingers extending and curling in a ‘give it here’ motion. 

“I don’t have it on me,” he replied. 

“Where is it?” she asked, crossing her arms and leaning back into one hip like she did when she was disciplining the children. 

“I don’t know. I sort of left in a rush. It might still be at Bucky’s.” It could be anywhere between the miles that separated his home and Bucky’s. 

Angie smothered a noise with both hands as she dropped them over her face. She inhaled deeply and then dropped them both to the counter. “You are hopeless,” she informed him before turning to her mate. “Fix this!”

“Yes, dear,” Peggy replied without a hint of amusement. 

“Go into the living room and wait for Sam. I need to bake something!”

Steve was pretty sure she made the lemon cake on purpose. 

 

Sam sighed and looked down at his hands, tapping them for a moment against the table top. “This is why I’ve been on your case about talking to someone,” he said evenly. “Just this reason.” 

“If everybody knew, why did nobody say anything?” Steve replied. 

“Because you’re supposed to figure it out on your own,” Riley replied, setting a cup of coffee down in front of him. 

“Thanks, babe,” Sam murmured. Riley paused beside him and they shared a quick kiss before Sam’s mate headed back to bed, to afford them the privacy of a painful conversation. 

“Thanks, Riley,” Steve said as the Beta wandered out. Riley waved at him with a small smile and disappeared out the door. Steve turned the steaming mug in his hands in quiet circles over the table. 

“I know this isn’t easy for you, Steve,” Sam said. “But it isn’t supposed to be. Fairy tales aside. Finding your mate is meant to be all trial and error, because they’re worth all the stupid shit. Bucky’s worth all the shit, isn’t he?” 

“Yeah,” Steve replied when it was clear Sam wasn’t going to let him get away with nodding. “Yeah, he is.” 

“Steve...we’re your friends. And we just want you to be happy, no matter what that means for you. If it means you’re an Alpha Provider for the rest of your life, fine. If it means you want to retire and pick painting back up, fine. If it means you want to take Bucky as your mate and live happily ever after, we are one thousand percent behind you and anyone with a problem with it is going to be in for one messy as hell fight. But, Steve...only _you_ can make that decision for yourself.”

Steve sighed. 

“Tell me what it feels like when you’re with him.” 

Steve closed his eyes, leaning back in the chair. “Bucky’s...Bucky’s like...coming in from the cold in the winter and a dip in the pool in the summer. He’s all the presents for every holiday and your birthday all at once. When I’m with Bucky…” He sighed again, scrubbing his hands over his face. 

“I’m not gonna be insulted,” Sam assured him. “Go on.” 

“I don’t feel so _**alone**_ , you know?” he asked him, opening his eyes to meet Sam’s. “I love you all. You’re my _family_. But, Bucky...when I’m with Bucky...it feels...it feels like… _home_. He’s my home.” 

Sam smiled at him. “You ever feel that before with another client?”

“No,” Steve replied, fingers tracing over the condensation collecting against his mug. “Just with Bucky.” 

“And that scares the hell out of you.” It wasn’t a question. 

“I don’t know. I honestly...Sam, I want him _all_ the time. Just knowing I’m going to get to see him...it’s like Christmas when you’re a kid.” He tapped his fingers on the table, on either side of his mug. “And just like Christmas, it’s over too soon and I have to go back to real life, and I feel like someone’s ripped my heart out.” 

“Those were some Christmases,” Sam joked. 

The corner of Steve’s mouth twitched in a not quite smile.

“So...if you had to give it all up tomorrow...if someone said, you can have Bucky, he’s your’s _forever_ no take backs, no tricks. And all you had to do was walk away from your entire life…”

Steve was nodding before Sam even finished the question. 

“Then why are we having this conversation, Steve?” 

Steve looked up at him. 

“You love him. We know that, and more importantly, _you_ know that. But, you know who doesn’t know that? _**Bucky**_. The one person who _deserves_ to know hasn’t a damn clue. Because you refuse to separate work and life. Yeah, maybe you met him through work, but he stopped being that a long time ago.” 

“T’Challa said...a while back when I...when I accidentally forgot to use a condom with Bucky-” Sam’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeah, see, T’Challa figured it wasn’t the type of thing I’d do. You know, consciously. He told me to think about what that meant. And I just...I got it wrong. I realized I had feelings for him, that it wasn’t just this wild attraction driving me crazy. Bucky even noticed, tried to get me to talk about it. And...I blew it. I could have told him months ago and I just…” He shook his head. 

“The point is,” Sam replied. “You know _now_. You’re sure now. You’re sure, right?” 

Steve nodded. 

“So, give him some time to get his head together, and then try to get a hold of him. Outside of work. You know he’ll be happy to see you, he was the last time, wasn’t he?” 

Steve thought back. The thrill of seeing Bucky out of the blue. Of getting to hold him, caress him, whisper softly in the dark and care for him without being expected to. To show him how he felt. How he really felt. He’d wanted to clear his schedule a little bit. Make some room and try to court him the way Frank suggested to his support group. The way Peggy had gone after Angie. 

But he’d been overbooked, and he could never turn down someone in need. Especially his clients. He could remember walking into the house with Birdie, sky high happy and refreshed in a way he’d never experienced before. 

“Well, someone’s happy,” Angie had said. 

“Good news?” Peggy had asked, leaning forward on the couch. 

“Mmm...what’s that smell?” 

“Bucky,” Birdie had sung, hands behind her back. 

“Is it really?” Angie had replied, pressing her nose to his throat. “So...you got to see Bucky today did you?” She’d smiled at him as she pulled away. 

“Oh Mommy, he’s so pretty!” Birdie had said. “He’s almost as tall as Steve, with just as many muscles and really soft dark hair and the bluest eyes on the planet!”

“Bluer than Steve’s?” Peggy had asked with a grin. 

“Blue like the jewels on Mommy’s necklace!”

Angie had grinned at him then. 

“And he’s _super_ nice! He helped us keep our appointment and brought us up to see Uncle Tony and everything!” 

“He’s head of security,” Steve had informed them. 

“For _Tony_?” Peggy had asked, surprised. 

“And his friend just had a baby, so he was really tired so Steve stayed with him while I went to breakfast with Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper.”

“Did he now?” Angie had replied, smile slanting slyly. 

“He was _tired_ ,” Steve reiterated. “I helped him fall _asleep_.”

“And came home covered in him. What a nice friend!” Angie didn’t actually laugh, but it had been there in her eyes. 

Steve looked down at his mug. “Yeah...he was.” 

“So, call him in a day or two. No more than three! And ask him out. See what happens. It can’t hurt.” Steve was grateful he hadn’t said, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ 

He nodded. “Okay, yeah. I’ll do that.” 

 

Steve had _meant_ to do it, he really had. He’d even called Bucky three days later, just like Sam had suggested. But when the call went to voicemail, Steve floundered and basically stumbled through dropping the phone, a quick ‘Hi, how are you?’ and another apology. He was babbling so much, he even reminded Bucky he could still file a complaint if he wanted. And was glad no one had been around to witness the disaster of a phone call, because he’d have never lived it down. 

After, he’d had to attend a client. And then another. And another. And between working through their heats - which he’d found he’d suddenly lost all interest in, though he was sure to care for them to the best of his ability regardless - and his work at the office he’d completely lost track of time. 

He knocked on Peggy’s door and she and Scott looked up from a print out. Scott shuffled guiltily. Peggy’s lips were in a thin line. 

“Uh, hey, Steve!” Scott said, shifting in his stance to wave awkwardly at him. 

“Hey, Scott. You wanted to see me, Peg?” 

She sighed. “Yes, please come in, Steve.” 

Scott clasped his shoulder, giving it a squeeze as he passed. “If there's anything you need, anything at all, I’m your man, okay?” 

“Sure,” Steve replied, brow furrowed. He flashed Scott a smile. “Thanks.”

“Any time!” 

“Have a seat,” Peggy said, gesturing to the chair across from her desk. 

Steve sat as Scott closed the door behind him. Steve could hear him bumping into someone on their way in to see Peggy and quietly shuffling them off. 

“What’s going on?” he asked, concerned now. 

Peggy took a deep breath and waved the paper at him. “It’s from Bucky.” 

“Oh…” Steve replied. “He filed a complaint after all, huh?” He tried to smile. “That’s okay. I told him to-”

“Steve.” Peggy sat down beside him and rested a hand on his. “He didn’t file a complaint.” 

Steve was confused. It must have showed on his face because Peggy shifted in her seat until their knees were touching. “I don’t...”

“He filed for contract termination. Citing emotional distress.” 

Steve hadn’t suffered from asthma since he was a child. But no one who’d ever felt their lungs shutting down on them could confuse the feeling for anything else. He couldn’t seem to breathe. He couldn’t _breathe_. 

“Steve…”

“W-what?” he choked out, vision going blurry. 

“He’s closed his account and requested for his records to be sealed with OVID. He’s a highly decorated war veteran...so, we’re accommodating them on this. And...Tony may have contacted me personally, _threatening_ to take it down himself if we didn’t so, we’re going to let this one go.”

He couldn’t breathe and he couldn’t stop blinking. 

“I’m sorry, Steve. But, as per regulations, any contact outside of contract termination would be considered harassment. I want this to work out for you, I _do_ , but we just can’t take the risk right now. After everything with Hydra-”

“I understand,” he said, abruptly standing.

“Steve.”

“I have to get back to work.”

“Steve!” 

He closed the door behind him with more force than was strictly necessary and leaned back against it, eyes closed and hand still on the knob. 

Someone cleared their throat and he sniffed quickly, rubbing aggressively at his eyes. 

“Hey,” Scott said, shifting a tablet between his hands anxiously. “I just wanted you to know, that I’m handling this personally. So...no one’s going to know and your record’s going to remain as squeaky clean as ever, okay?” He smiled and Steve felt the world tearing away just beneath him. 

“Thanks. Thanks, Scott,” he husked, pushing himself off the door. The Beta winced slightly as Steve slapped a hand to his shoulder. “I appreciate it.” 

“Any time,” he assured him, voice a little strangled. “And if...I mean, Cassie’s been asking for you. And you know, Maggie just loves having you over.” 

Steve nodded. 

Scott tapped his tablet against his hand. “Well...I...I have to go take care of this.” He flashed Steve a supportive smile. “If there’s anything I can do, all right?” With a nod and a wave of his tablet, he turned and hurried down the hall. 

“Hey, Scott?” 

Scott paused and turned around. “Yeah?” 

“How’d you know?”

Scott broke into a grin. “They were the only two people always ready to punch me in the face who never seemed to get around to it,” he laughed. “When it’s love it’s love.” He shrugged. 

 

If he’d had known that it was going to be the last time he’d see Bucky, Steve knew he would have done so many things differently. Of course, he knew where Bucky lived and where he worked, but regulations dictated a mandatory separation, which meant Steve couldn’t even take Birdie to her appointments without warning the Tower that he would be around so they could give Bucky the day - paid leave - in order to avoid him. And because Omegas couldn’t be fired over mandatory protection procedures, often such requests were denied, regardless of need. Choosing the Omega’s presence at work, over an Alpha’s requirements, which were generally far easier to work around. Overall, Steve was a fan of the Omega Protection Laws. But when they kept him from the chance of even catching a stray whiff of Bucky...He knew why they were necessary and had even protested for them when he was younger. They were there to protect Omegas like Bucky from unwanted attention. Not that Tony cared about paid leave. He’d probably send Bucky away on a month’s paid vacation over a request from Steve. He was protective of his friends, and triply so when they were of the same designation. Tony could help them and so he did. Which meant there was nothing to be done. 

He took leave from his own job - he more than had the time saved up - and tried to use the time to reevaluate his life. He couldn’t be an Alpha Provider any more, at least not a heat specialist. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to touch another Omega sexually. Every job between Bucky’s appointments had been absolute torture. And now that he didn’t even have Bucky to look forward to, there really was no point to it. 

Steve spent more time at home. His one day, someday dream Omega was a thing of the past. He wanted Bucky and no one else. Which meant he spent several weeks on a complete overhaul. Renovating and redecorating until the place was somewhere he knew Bucky would be comfortable. He picked painting back up, but found all he ever managed to create was portrait after portrait of the Omega he loved. 

He still spent time with the Carters, but he made a point not to be there for too long when the kids were free, because then they asked him about work. And when he reminded them that he was on vacation, they would ask about Bucky. Peggy and Angie were as supportive as they could be, and his refrigerator was always full of homemade food all dressed up in various shapes and colors of post its in Angie’s handwriting. 

Eventually, his fellow Alphas caught on and began to offer to train him in other fields, or to check in on Bucky for him if he really needed to know. Steve felt the sharp edge of losing Bucky dull enough that he could breathe without feeling his entire chest ache. He hadn’t lost Bucky forever. He’d get to talk to him one day, and when that day came, he didn’t intend to leave anything unsaid. 

He officially retired from heat services and felt as if he’d unburdened his soul. Sure, it meant he was apprenticing elsewhere and had to work his way back to the top, but he was doing real good again. And Scott handled all of his incoming messages so he never had to deal with complaints from heat service seeking Omegas or questions from old clients. 

Thor was more than happy to show him the ropes, and there was something about pregnant Omegas that left Steve feeling light and airy. They were so happy to see their contracted Alphas arrive every day and wanted nothing more than to be hugged until they couldn’t breathe before they left for the evening. Thor admitted that there was a small percentage that still required sexual services, but the majority - even when the attention was required - refused because they weren’t comfortable with an Alpha’s advances outside of their pups sires. 

Steve fell into the work and found he didn’t feel quite so empty. There were days he would think of Bucky and his mind would wander, but Thor’s clients would just smile at him and pat him understandably. 

“You are taking well to it,” Thor said as they drove from one client’s home to another’s. An added perk of Pregnant Omega Care was the fact that they reveled in the smell of other Omegas and there was no need to scent flush - a fact for which Steve was immensely grateful. 

“I’m enjoying it,” he replied, smiling. “Thank you.”

Thor grinned at him before looking back to the road. “Perhaps you will be able to attend to your own clients soon. I know many would be eager for your company.”

“That doesn’t change, huh?” he joked. 

Thor laughed. “No. I find it does not.” 

His phone began to ring and he pressed the bluetooth at his ear. “Yes, my love?” he said. 

Steve smiled and looked out the window. Thor was managing the type of life Steve had long dreamed of. A mate, a family, and the ability to still help those in the greatest need. 

The car turned a corner abruptly and Steve had to brace himself. 

“I will be right there. Be calm, love. I am coming.” 

“Is there an emergency?” Steve asked as Thor’s foot sunk over the gas pedal. 

“Yes.” 

“Is Loki alright?” 

Thor’s mate had taken a leave of absence before they’d even announced their happy news. And because Steve was their friend, he said nothing when people began to speculate. 

“What?” Thor asked, brow furrowed as he chanced a look his way. “Yes, he is fine.”

“What’s the emergency?”

“A friend,” Thor replied. “I apologize, Steve. But, it is most urgent.”

“No, no,” Steve assured him, waving a hand. “It’s important. Do what you have to. Would you like me to contact Charles and tell him we’re going to be late?”

“That would be kind. Thank you.” 

 

Thor executed an absolutely perfect sideways glide into a parking spot and threw himself out of the car. Steve fought with his seat belt a moment before hurrying after him. Emergencies were part and parcel of the job and since one had not come up yet in his training, he figured his best bet was to observe as much as he could without getting in the way. He’d apologize to Thor later, though his friend hadn’t said he _couldn’t_ come and knowing Thor, was not at all likely to mind. 

He had to run to catch up to Thor’s brisk strides and the hospital staff seemed to part as they made their way through to emergency. 

A petite, heavily pregnant Omega jumped to her feet when she saw them coming. “Thor!” she sobbed. “Thor, it’s terrible! They’re saying they can’t do anything!!” 

Thor wrapped her in his arms and soothed her gently. “Peace, my love,” he said softly. “Where is he?”

“In...in there,” she said, pointing to a room behind them. “We were just eating lunch and he collapsed! They won’t let me in because…” She gestured down at herself. “Natasha and Phil are on their way but it could be hours!” 

“Who is in with him now?” Thor asked. 

“Clint. I called everybody. I just...I don’t know what to do!” 

“Easy, love,” Thor said, kissing her. “Sit and rest. You will only upset the child and end up in a bed yourself.”

“These rules are _stupid_!” she snapped.

Thor cupped her face in his hands and Steve finally got a good look at her as Thor gave her a long, calming kiss. This was Bucky’s friend. The one who’d gotten pregnant. The reason Bucky’d wanted to devote one of his heats to breeding play. He recalled Bucky mentioning his friend Peter had gotten pregnant as well and worried for him. Yet, some part of him thrilled at the knowledge that he might see Bucky again, completely accidentally. 

“I will see to him,” Thor promised her, before releasing her and moving to talk to the doctor. 

She looked sideways and Steve smiled at her. “Oh!” she gasped, then grabbed his arm. “Oh! Thor!!” 

He looked up as the Omega - Darcy, he was pretty sure her name was Darcy - dragged Steve along in her wake after him. 

“Doctor!” 

“One Alpha at a time, miss,” he replied gently. “Flooding him with several Alphas won’t help him any more than what we’re already attempting.” 

“I know!” she replied, tugging Steve’s arm. “But it’s okay now! This is him! This is his Alpha. The one that’s been away on deployment. He’s an Army Captain! He’s back now.” She shuffled behind Steve and gave him a shove as the Doctor lit up. 

“Come with me,” he said. 

Steve looked back confused, but followed at Darcy’s urging and Thor’s nod. 

“I know the situation couldn’t be helped - thank you for your service.” Steve nodded. “But, it has gotten very dangerous indeed and your mate needs you right now.” 

“My mate-”

“We’ve done everything we could to make him comfortable,” he added, drawing the curtain back. 

Steve felt his stomach drop out. “Bucky!” He didn’t think of the laws, or the consequences. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. He dropped into the bed beside him and reached out for him. “What happened?!” he demanded.

“Separation anxiety. Your friends have been doing an excellent job of caring for him in your absence, but in about twelve percent of cases, substitute Alphas will actually induce miscarriage.” 

“ _Miscarriage_?”

“Not to worry,” the doctor replied. “You’ve arrived just in time. It should be reversible now, but you’re going to have to stay with him at all times. Is that understood?” 

“Yes,” Steve replied, shell shocked. “Yes, I...thank you.” 

The doctor nodded and gestured for Steve to climb into the bed and start being attentive. So he did. 

Bucky looked pale and he was cold to the touch as Steve drew him close and wrapped his arms around him. “Buck…” he murmured into his hair. “Jesus, Buck, why didn’t you say anything?!”

His hand reached down and settled shakily over Bucky’s abdomen, steadying as he followed the slight curve. “I’m here now,” he promised, words whispered into his hair. “I’ve got you, Buck. I’ve got you.” 

 

“You came,” Bucky’s friend Clint said from the doorway sometime later. 

Steve looked up from where he’d been nuzzling Bucky’s hair. 

“I didn’t think you would, but Darcy said…” He hooked a thumb behind him. 

Steve nodded. 

“Good,” Clint replied. “This whole thing’s been a disaster from the start.” He moved to sit in the chair beside the bed, and while he had every right to, made no move to touch Bucky. “It’s yours, you know. The baby.” 

Steve had had his suspicions, but he’d also had his doubts. Bucky had cited ‘emotional distress’ when he’d terminated their contract. He could have easily fallen in with an unscrupulous Alpha while trying to abate his next heat. His hand settled over Bucky’s abdomen again as he realized the reason Bucky was in the hospital was that he and the baby had needed him, and Steve had not been able to be near them. 

“He was afraid to tell you.”

“Why?” Steve asked, stroking over their baby. Their baby. Bucky was pregnant with his baby. His head swam a little at the thought - at the new _truth_ in his life. 

“He said he couldn’t keep you. Because, you know, the contract. And you didn’t provide breeding services and were saving all of that for your mate...He was afraid you’d make him-”

Steve closed his eyes, inhaling deeply and pulling Bucky closer. 

“I told him to at least try, but…”

“He put the baby first,” Steve said understanding completely. 

“Yeah…” 

“How’s…? I mean, it’s probably not any of my business, but-” 

Clint snorted. “He’s been living with us. My mates and myself. I have two Alphas, so...there was more than enough attention to go around. And Bucky’s family. We couldn’t just abandon him to deal with this all alone.” 

“I wouldn’t have made him-”

“I know.”

“I would have taken care of him.”

“I know.” 

Bucky shifted in his sleep, frowning slightly. Steve maneuvered him carefully, so he’d be able to snuggle closer to him without tangling any of his tubes. 

“Bucky’s nosocomephobic. It means-”

“I know what it means,” Steve replied, drawing Bucky’s face closer to his throat. 

“He probably shouldn’t wake up here.”

“I can’t sign him out,” Steve pointed out. “He terminated our contract. I don’t have the right.”

Clint scoffed. “Bucky’s only in this hospital because he collapsed at a restaurant and they had to call 911. The ambulance can’t bring patients to Stark Tower. And he collapsed at the restaurant because he needs you and you haven’t been around. Look, his cover story is that his Alpha’s been away on deployment. It’s pretty common for us, you know. We’ve been getting by just fine with that. There’s no one to contradict you. Literally no one.” 

“Except we aren’t bonded.”

“Not everyone bonds before they reproduce,” Clint pointed out. “You got deployed before you could bond, and Bucky got pregnant but you’d been deployed already and had to finish a short tour before they’d let you come back.” 

Steve looked down at Bucky. 

“Stress isn’t good for either of them,” Clint prodded. “And I can _guarantee_ you he’ll be stressed as fuck if he wakes up and finds himself in the hospital. Do you really want to risk the baby’s life over something like out of date paperwork?” 

It was a low blow, but it worked - likely just as Clint had intended. “Where would we even take him?” 

“To Stark Tower. He has his own medical staff there and he can wake up in his own bed on his own floor. You’re his Alpha, you can make that decision for him.”

“I’m not his Alpha.”

“Only because you’re two of the most oblivious, stubborn assholes I’ve ever known. And not at all for lack of trying on literally everyone else’s parts. Sign the paper, Steve. Trust me, Bucky will thank you for it, not hold it against you. The rest of us will swear on every religious text there is that you’re Bucky’s Alpha. And not just because we love him and we want to keep him and the baby safe, but because it’s fucking true.” 

 

As it turned out, no one needed to swear anything, or even sign anything. Steve spoke to the doctor in Bucky’s stead and the man simply nodded, saying he’d already been contacted by Bucky’s private physician and they were just waiting on Steve. 

Which was how Steve found himself back in Bucky’s bed in Stark Tower. Bruce had shaken Steve’s hand and thanked him for coming along. While Tony had thrown up both hands and declared it had taken him goddamn long enough and he’d been a half hour away from suing him just to get him to move his ass. Steve wasn’t certain what Tony had intended to sue him _for_ but he was glad to have avoided it all the same. 

Bucky seemed more relaxed in the tower, and Steve wasn’t certain if it was his presence, or just freedom from the hospital in general; either was good, as long as Bucky wasn’t in danger. 

Steve lay in the bed, Bucky sprawled half across him, the slight jut of his abdomen pressing against Steve’s side. As he waited for Bucky to wake, a million thoughts raced through his mind, but he refused to settle on any of them. He’d made a promise to Bucky, even if the Omega was entirely unaware of it and he would tell him the truth - the whole truth - before they took any further steps in any direction. 

The sun was just beginning to set, staining the sky in a riot of pastels that glistened through the wall of floor to ceiling windows when Bucky began to stir. Steve looked down at him, blinking back the daze of hours without movement, reaching up to stroke his hair. Bucky sighed and snuggled closer, burying his face in the side of Steve’s neck and breathing in deeply. “Steve…” 

“I’m here, Buck,” he replied, tilting his head to press a kiss against Bucky’s ear and just catching the edge of it. 

Bucky’s hands curled in his shirt and he hitched in a breath. “Dream…” 

“It’s not a dream, Buck. I’m here. I have you.” He tightened his hold about him and Bucky pressed his face closer, wetness meeting Steve’s skin. 

“‘M sorry, Stevie…” Bucky hitched. “I’m so sorry…” 

“Shh...Buck, nothing to be sorry for.” 

“I miss you _so_ much…” he sobbed, body tangling against Steve’s as he curled up. 

“I’ve missed you too,” he replied. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be here, Buck. I thought you didn’t want me to be.”

“Want you…” Bucky rasped, grip tightening in his shirt. “Want you so much, Steve...So damn much.” 

“I love you, Bucky.”

Bucky began to cry. 

Steve made soothing noises and rubbed at his back. 

“I love you so much!” Bucky sobbed. “Don’t let go. Stevie, don’t let go of me!” His fingertips were digging into Steve’s skin hard enough to bruise, but all Steve felt was happiness. “Stay with us. Keep us, _please_!!” 

“Of course I’m gonna keep you, Buck,” he whispered back. “Not even death could keep me away from you.” 

Bucky stilled against him, though the tears still spilled wet tracks down his neck and shoulder. 

“Rest, Buck...I’ll still be here when you wake up.” 

Bucky sniffed against him and shook his head. 

“I promise. I’ll be here every time you wake, for as long as you want me to be.” He reached down and smoothed his hand over Bucky’s abdomen and Bucky made a noise that wasn’t quite pain and threw an arm about his neck. “You, and our baby.” 

“Our baby,” Bucky sighed. He shifted in Steve’s hold, nuzzling up against his jaw. “ _Our_ baby, Steve.”

Steve smiled. “Yeah, Bucky. _Our_ baby.” 

 

He woke to the feeling of being stared at and opened his eyes slowly, after taking stock of the room. Bucky was awake in his arms, staring up at him as if he couldn’t believe Steve was real. Steve smiled at him and drew him closer. “Morning, Buck.” 

“Steve?” he whispered in disbelief. 

Steve dropped their brows together, nudging noses and Bucky made a small sound. “Feeling better?” 

Bucky shifted, hips moving back by increments. “Did...did…?”

“Nobody called me,” he told him, reaching for Bucky’s hip and bringing his belly back into contact with Steve’s side. “I happened to be there. Buck…” He smoothed his hand over their baby and Bucky jolted. 

“Steve...Steve _please_...”

“Shh, Buck. Clint already explained.”

Bucky swallowed thickly against him. 

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, because I wasn’t allowed near you, though to be honest, I’ve been thinking about it for a long time now.”

“Thinking about what?” Bucky asked, throat tight. 

Steve tilted their heads, kissing Bucky when his lips were in range. “How many pups do you want, Bucky?” 

Bucky blinked at him, startled. “What?”

“I remember when we talked about it the first time, I told you I wanted a whole baseball team. But, you never said how many you wanted.”

“I...Steve?” 

“It’s your body, Bucky. So, you get to decide.”

“...what? Steve are you-?”

“James Buchanan Barnes, I know I can be an idiot most days, dense as hell and an insufferably annoying pain in the ass. But, I love you. And I want to mate with you and have pups with you and grow old with you.” He leaned back a little so their eyes could better meet, and took in the glassiness of Bucky’s and how wide they were. “I know I hurt you, and I don’t deserve a second chance, but I can’t stop loving you, Buck. I don’t know how and I’m not willing to learn. I will love you until the day I die, no matter what you decide. I can’t promise I’ll never hurt you again, because apparently I can do it without even being aware of it. But, I will try my best to never do it consciously and to make each and every time up to you to the best of my ability. I am so very, very sorry for every day we were apart because I’d made you afraid. And I swear to you now, you will never, _ever_ have cause to fear me again.” Steve tucked a stray strand of hair behind Bucky’s ear. “Bucky, will you do me the greatest of honors and be my mate?” 

Bucky tilted his head. “Active roster or extended roster?” 

Steve’s brain tried to catch up to the abrupt question. “I…”

“The entire line up of the ‘55 Dodgers?”

“Bucky?”

“Because I’ve only got one in here, pal, so you’d better get busy. We’re not making either if you don’t start putting more than one in here at a time!” 

Steve gripped Bucky’s hip and Bucky beamed up at him. 

“Do they have to actually _play_ baseball or--?” He hummed into the kiss, wrapping both arms around Steve’s neck. 

“Is that a yes?” Steve asked against his lips. 

“It’d better be a yes,” Bucky replied. “I’m not giving you free babies for life without getting something out of it.”

“Mmm...but wouldn’t you have fun making them?” he asked, rolling them so that Bucky was on his back with Steve stretched out along his side. 

“I mean, _probably_ ,” Bucky countered. 

“Would you enjoy being waited on hand and foot?” Steve asked, trailing kisses down Bucky’s throat. 

Bucky arched in his embrace, the swell of his belly brushing Steve’s arm. 

Steve continued down, Bucky’s hands finding their way into his hair and gripping as Steve spread his shirt open and drew his pants down enough to trail kisses over his belly. 

“Mmm...I suppose,” Bucky breathed, arching more. 

“Having me at your…beck...and call...giving in...to...your...every...whim.”

Bucky moaned, hips rocking up. “Stevie…” 

Steve nuzzled his belly and kissed him just to the right of his belly button. “You want something, sweetheart?” he asked into his skin. 

“Yeah,” Bucky growled, arching again. “I want my mate to shut up and claim me.” 

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Now? Right here?”

Bucky tilted his head and looked down with him. “Steve--I actually don’t know your full name.” 

Steve smiled. “It’s Rogers. Steven Grant Rogers.” 

“Thank you,” Bucky replied sweetly, smoothing a hand through his hair before getting serious again. “Steven Grant Rogers, I am growing a pup for you in my _body_!” 

He laughed. “Fair point,” he conceded. 

“You’re damn right!”

Steve slid up beside him again and began to pay the sweet spot just off the side of his ear the proper amount of attention. “How do you want it?” 

Bucky moaned low and curled a hand in Steve’s shirt again, lower this time, just above his crotch. “Will...will it be safe for the baby if I’m beneath you?” 

“Should be,” Steve replied. “We’re not going to do it much harm.” 

“Him.”

“Hmm?”

“The baby’s a boy.” 

Steve paused and shifted to look at him. 

Bucky smiled. 

Steve kissed him. 

 

Bucky had absolutely _not_ been a fan of the fact that Steve had made him wait until they spoke with Bruce first. He’d crossed his arms and glared at Steve while Bruce smiled as if he were trying not to laugh and informed them that there was nothing to worry about and sex would actually help, not to mention fully bonding. 

“See?!” Bucky had replied. “Listen to me when I talk to you!” 

Steve had shaken his head and thanked Bruce again, who’d let them know he’d put a lock on the door and instruct JARVIS to not let anyone in. 

“Thanks, we really appreciate that,” Steve had told him. 

“Now come over here and mate with me!” Bucky had snapped at him. 

Steve recalled Thor telling him about the few Omegas who still needed the attention and how it could affect them. He wondered if Bucky would need constant sexual attention and found himself actively looking forward to it. 

 

His body had changed. 

It wasn’t even the physical nature of Bucky’s pregnancy, but the things he was sensitive to and where he wanted - and didn’t want - to be touched. Steve spent a good amount of time relearning Bucky’s body and noting the changes, making sure to cover every last inch of him twice before he was sure he wouldn’t accidentally hurt or make him uncomfortable suddenly. 

He was slightly more emotional than during his heats when hormones were washing high through his blood. But, it could also be said that Steve’s sudden reappearance would not instantly make up for all their time apart, nor would it appease Bucky’s separation anxiety any time soon. Steve found himself equally emotionally vulnerable and there were a little more tears involved - on both their counts - and a lot more declarations of love than were usual for them. 

Steve wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Bucky writhed under him, palms walking their way up his abdomen as he thrust into him deeply. After months of an absent libido, Steve found himself overwhelmed by the ferocity with which it had returned. And yet, how easy it was to allow instinct to guide him, taking Bucky as his own with just the right amount of gently applied force. It wasn’t even a conscious decision on his part, his body making the adjustments naturally as he coupled with his pregnant Omega - Bucky’s altered scent both driving him crazy and calming his urgency. It was an interesting experience he was looking forward to becoming routine. 

“Steve!” Bucky gasped, tapping his abdomen a few quick times with the curve of his palm. 

Steve grunted, but wrapped both arms around his waist and rolled them over. Bucky braced both hands to his chest and took a few deep breaths, body shivering. He adjusted his legs and shifted over Steve and it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. 

Steve rolled his hips and Bucky whined and threw his head back. “I got you Buck, just relax.” 

“I...I haven’t...since…”

“Shh...not going to hurt you, sweetheart.”

“I know. I know, just…”

Steve smoothed both hands down his back and began to rub soothingly. “Do you want to do it?” 

Bucky shook his head, eyes squeezing shut. 

Steve sat up and Bucky sighed, wrapping both arms about his shoulders and dropping their brows together. “Better?” he asked him. 

Bucky pressed his lips together and Steve kissed him and gave an experimental thrust. Bucky gasped softly and clung to him. 

“Better?” he asked him again. 

“Better,” Bucky replied and kissed him. 

It took longer to find release, the position so intimate they lost themselves in each other for a long time. By the time Steve could feel Bucky’s body closing around his knot, they were practically one being, the final fusion effectively sealing the deal. He kissed him, fingers curling in his hair before drawing Bucky’s head back and closing his teeth around his throat. They’d always been so careful; Steve had always had to be so careful. He didn’t have to be careful anymore. 

Bucky gasped sharply, his own hands closing tightly in Steve’s hair as his teeth broke skin. Bucky came, coating both their bellies as his body bowed sharply in Steve’s embrace. He kept thrusting, his orgasm drawn out on an endless wave as Bucky’s body milked him for every last drop. He drew his teeth back and licked and kissed it better, before tilting his own head. Bucky blinked at him for several minutes then smiled dopily and leaned in to bite him in return. 

Steve wondered if he hadn’t been expecting it. Many Alphas only wanted the bond halfway, too afraid of allowing their Omegas equal access to themselves. That wasn’t mating in Steve’s opinion. It was all or nothing on both ends and he didn’t want anything less. Especially with Bucky. 

His whole body rocked as Bucky’s teeth sank into him, marking him forever as his own. Steve had never wondered what mating felt like, too concerned with actually finding and preparing for one. So he wasn’t prepared for the surge of emotion, or the way his entire body lit up in extra sharp pleasure. He certainly wasn’t prepared for his knot to throb and release all at once. Bucky stroked and kissed and gently brought him back to himself. It wasn’t until his mate’s fingertips - his mate! - brushed the tears from his eyes that Steve blinked up at him in surprise. 

“I love you,” Bucky whispered in the quiet space between them. 

Steve realized he was on his back again. “I love you too, Buck,” he replied, reaching up to caress him back. 

Bucky’s eyes closed, and he leaned down until he was resting atop Steve. 

Steve wrapped both arms around him and wondered what he’d ever done right to deserve him. 

 

There was _cake_ for breakfast. 

If they were anywhere else, it might have been odd, but with Tony one had to be prepared for anything and everything - or risk falling behind on a life altering friendship. It was the bright blue ‘ _Congratulations_ ’ sprawled across the white icing that caused them both to pause. An envelope was tucked under the cake addressed to “Mr.s Rogers.” Bucky tugged it free without releasing Steve’s hand and leaned back into him to open it up. Steve untangled their fingers so he could wrap both arms about his mate and settle his palms over his pregnant swell. Bucky hummed and wiggled comfortably into the embrace, scanning the papers. 

Steve’s mouth found its way to Bucky’s neck where he trailed sweet kisses over his still healing claim mark. Bucky moaned and rocked into him, papers rustling slightly as his hands dropped over Steve’s and his hips rocked back. Steve inhaled aroused, impregnated mate and felt suddenly light headed as all the blood in his body rushed South in an instant. 

"Took the liberty of filing your mating for you,” came Tony’s voice - and if he weren’t an Omega, Steve knew he wouldn’t have been able to suppress a deep growl. “Thought I'd save you the hassle."

Bucky however, growled low immediately, rustling up Steve’s own protective instincts. His arms tightened about Bucky, tugging him back against him as his mate glared at their mutual friend with the promise of very real violence - pregnant or no - should he move any closer. 

“Sir,” JARVIS interrupted. “Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes have not fulfilled their mandatory transitional phase.” The A.I. sounded like if it could sigh wearily, it would. 

Tony flagged an arm. “It’s just Bucky Bear and Cap. They’re not about to look at anyone but each other; relax JARVIS. This’ll only take a minute.” 

“I will set the timer,” JARVIS dutifully announced. 

Tony rolled his eyes, but Bucky was relaxing in Steve’s hold as he shook off instinct and woke up a little more. He raised the papers again and looked over them. 

“These were filed _two weeks_ ago,” Bucky replied, exasperated. 

“You’re welcome!” 

“Is that even _legal_?” Steve asked, leaning over Bucky’s shoulder to peruse the paperwork. It did in fact look entirely legal and binding. 

Tony grinned. “Yup! As long as the paperwork is filed through all the proper channels - which I assure you it was. We even got a nice commission for you both from the government, for being dutiful little soldiers.” 

The papers crinkled a little in Bucky’s hand and Steve smoothed his own over the tight pull of his mate’s grip. Bucky, he knew, would have preferred such a detail go entirely unnoticed for as long as possible, as given they were both of rank and distinction, the military would be more than thrilled to find them procreating and would be extremely invested in the outcome of their union. Steve himself, had never taken much issue with it, as he’d never once imagined - for reasons he can’t quite explain, even to himself - that he’d end up mated to another service member. He found the military’s invasiveness just that, but while it was an uncomfortable situation, he did have to acknowledge the fact that in some ways the system worked. Providing plenty of services to the widowed partners of military and their offspring, so no one had to suffer unduly. He and his own mother had benefitted from it often enough when he was young and he couldn’t deny that it had helped him achieve a great many things. 

The simple fact of the matter was, most officers were lineaged. A side effect of the military being involved in most of their lives from a very young age. They were offered opportunities earlier than most civilians, and even when it did not end in active combat duty, many still settled quite comfortably in some branch of the military, furthering the line and opening up more options for their own families. Steve himself was second generation, but he’d learned from Bucky - and three entire pages of their marriage license was dedicated to the fact - that at least one member of Barnes males per generation had served as far back as the revolution. Of course, Omegas hadn’t been allowed to serve until World War Two, and Bucky was the first in his family to hold the honored distinction of Omega Special Ops. His mate still held most of the records an individual could achieve in his class, which left a new, profound sort of warmth in his chest. If nothing else, Bucky would be able to protect himself and their children if Steve was ever away from them during a crisis. 

His hold tightened abruptly and Bucky’s head tilted, any lingering anger evaporating at the scent of distress Steve couldn’t help but give off. He turned in the embrace, wrapping both arms about his neck and shoulders and leaning full bodied into him. Steve felt the steady beat of his heart and the gentle swell of his abdomen and buried his face into his shoulder. 

“Rhodey said I probably should have discussed that part with you first,” Tony said, actually sounding apologetic. “But, Bucky’s a national legacy. Better to tell them right out and have the upper hand than deal with the consequences of them finding out later and getting in your faces about it.” 

Steve could feel Bucky nod. His mate’s arms closed about him tightly as he murmured a defeated, but understanding, “Thanks, Tony.” 

“Any time. And, if anyone wants to give you shit about it, I’ll sic Rhodey on them.” Steve couldn’t see him, but could hear the grin of pride in his tone when he added, “What good is a Colonel for a mate if you can’t use him every now and again to do a little good?”

Bucky snorted a soft laugh and Steve tilted his head so he could kiss him under his jaw. 

 

They’d evened out eventually. Wandering onto the common floor a few days after their bonding had properly settled to find nearly all of Bucky’s friends awaiting them to celebrate. 

“Did you know?” Steve asked Clint, who raised a curious brow at him. “That we were legally bonded when Bucky was in the hospital.” 

Clint smiled and shrugged one shoulder. “Who can predict Tony?” He said it so nonchalantly that Steve couldn’t be sure if he’d even answered his question or not. 

He found Thor with Darcy and her Beta mate, seated happily between them, an arm about each as the pair chatted and drank from crystalline flutes - the liquid in Darcy’s distinctly lacking bubbles or dark pigmentation. Thor looked up when he approached and grinned widely at him. “Steve!” he exclaimed, standing abruptly and grabbing Steve’s hand, shaking enthusiastically while dragging him into a crushing hug with his free arm. “I am so glad it has all worked out for you both!” 

“Thanks,” he replied, patting Thor’s broad back with his free hand. 

They drew apart and Thor’s grin did not falter once, as he gestured on either side with him. “May I introduce Darcy and Jane Odinson.” 

Steve felt his brows raise of their own volition. 

“We’ve met,” Jane said pleasantly, nodding to Steve politely. 

Thor was busy grabbing Darcy’s hands and hauling her to her feet, settling one hand to her back and the other to her belly, where he rubbed affectionately. “Our first born!” he declared loudly with pride. 

“Thor!” Darcy protested, flagging a hand at him. “What did we say?” 

“Ah, yes, my apologies.” He kissed the curve of her cheek before looking to Steve again. “We do not say first born until he is safely born. Though we are so close to the date, I do not see how it matters. We have many friends, within this room, all justly prepared to assist in his arrival, should he so deem us worthy any time soon!” 

“It’s not reassuring when you’re jinxing it,” Darcy explained. 

“I do no such thing, my love,” Thor replied. “I have confidence that it is so, and so should you.” 

“Umm…” said Steve, unsure of the circumstances he now found himself in. 

“Don’t hurt yourself, Rogers,” came a familiar drawl from behind him. 

Steve turned to find Loki standing behind him and couldn’t help the sweep of his eyes, and the confusion that likely flooded them as Loki rolled his own. 

“We said we were expecting,” he replied, as if speaking to a small child. “We never said **I** was carrying it.” 

Steve blinked, trying to make sense of the last few months. 

Jane took pity on him, standing and crossing over to them. “Loki has expressly forbidden Thor from ‘ruining’ his body by knocking him up like a common Omega.” She rolled her eyes. “So it’s entirely likely the only children we’ll have in our family will come from Darcy.” 

“Thankfully,” Darcy added, hands settling over her belly. Steve noted as her fingers came in contact with Thor’s that their bands were exact matches, as he knew Loki’s was to his fellow Alpha’s as well. A quick search of Jane provided a fourth, identical, band. “Could you _imagine_ Loki pregnant?!” She snorted. 

“I would be marvelously pregnant!” Loki objected. 

“Yeah, sure,” Darcy replied. “Like anyone believes _that_!”

Thor interrupted Loki’s response with a raised hand and a low, “Peace. Please. You have each made your own decisions. You know I would love any child each of you bore with all of my being, but it is not necessary that either of you bare any but those you wish to.” 

Loki and Darcy both exhaled through their noses. 

“We usually get along a lot better,” Jane offered. She leaned in and added lowly, “Hormones.” 

Steve let that sink in, nodding when he realized the source of the bickering. As part of the same family unit and sharing an Alpha - and likely a home - Darcy’s pregnancy would have either entirely suppressed Loki’s own heat cycle or ramped it up into a frenzy in order to bring balance to their union. Steve knew how much having choice taken from him upset Loki, and just how stubborn and petulant he could be when he felt he was not being given just options. Regardless of the direction it had taken, Steve was certain Thor had been in for a hell of a pregnancy on both sides. 

“Can I…?” he asked, gesturing aside. 

Thor kissed Darcy, then Loki, then Jane and crossed over to him. “Let us walk.” 

They wandered out to a terrace that had no business being up so high; Thor did not even wait until they’d fully crossed the threshold before explaining. “Loki and I are brothers.” 

When Steve said nothing, he nodded and continued. 

“We are not blood related. He was adopted into our family when we were both infants. We did not know.” 

Steve winced. It wouldn’t be the first time, but that didn’t mean the entire situation hadn’t been hell on his friends. 

“Loki still refuses to speak to Father because of it. He feels if we had been able to make a proper decision without so many complications, it would not have caused us so much despair. I am not saying he is wrong, yet I feel he is being too hard on our Father, and I hope being a parent will help mend the rift between them soon.” 

“Have you...I mean how long…?” 

“Loki and I bonded in secret as children. Too young to know better; too in love to care about the consequences. I have never been able to deny him what he truly wanted, and he has always claimed there has never been a thing he has wanted more than I.”

They walked a few steps in silence. “I met Darcy and Jane a few years ago. Do you remember when I was hit by a car and in hospital for a week?” 

Steve couldn’t help the curving of his mouth at the utter ridiculousness of it. “Are you saying-?”

Thor grinned and nodded. “Jane was driving.” 

“Oh man,” Steve said, laughing. 

“Darcy tased me.” 

Steve had to pause to catch his breath, head dropping back and eyes slightly wet. 

“Apparently I was freaking her out.” 

“So naturally, you mated them,” he replied, wiping at an eye. 

Thor grinned. “Naturally,” he agreed. 

 

“I see he told you the story,” Darcy said when they returned. 

“Did you really tase him?” Steve asked with a grin. 

Darcy raised her chin, hands going to her belly. “Yes, I did.” 

“And you hit him with a car?” he asked Jane. 

“Twice,” Darcy informed him. 

Jane sighed heavily as Steve turned to Thor, who laughed. 

“Insufferable,” Loki said. “The lot of them.” 

“I can only imagine,” Steve replied, smiling, and pointedly not drawing attention to the fact that Loki and Darcy were standing close to one another, his hand against her side. 

 

“But, why didn’t you ever say anything?” Bucky asked, brow furrowed. Steve rubbed his thumb against the pulse point in his mate’s wrist. 

Darcy sighed. “Thor and Loki have a history and it was just easier to let them have that space, you know? They got to live the life they needed to really come to terms with everything. They only found out about the adoption about a year after we got together. And I mean, yeah, they’d had years on their own, but...they were able to really figure things out for themselves. We didn’t want to get in the way of that.” Jane gave her hand a squeeze and Darcy smiled and squeezed back. “But, with the baby and everything, and you and Steve, and both worlds crossing over...we thought it was about time to come clean.” She looked down, then up at him from beneath her lashes. “...Are you mad?” 

Bucky snorted softly. “Not like anything’s really changed.”

“Well, you were supposed to be my Omega support, you jerk!” She cuffed him lightly in the arm and Bucky shrugged unapologetically. “I’m really happy for you both,” she added, smiling brightly at them. 

“Thanks,” Bucky said, turning to look at Steve and stealing his heart all over again. “We’re really happy too.”


End file.
